The Secret of BioSynth
by cmar
Summary: A merger between BioLab and BioSynth brings a man from Eric's past, a mysterious research project, and a threat. Can Wes and Eric meet the challenge to their relationship as well as their company? TF, preSPD, Red Fire series. Slash! Complete.
1. Reunion

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it. This is also a continuation of my 'Red Fire' Wes/Eric series; while you don't need to have read previous stories, it would help for background.

This is my own attempt to fuse Time Force (slash version) and SPD. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Reunion

- - -

"It's open," Wes called in answer to the tap on his office door. He focused on the reflection of that door long enough to greet the man who stepped inside with a nod, before returning his attention to his own image in the small mirror on his office wall.

Another face appeared beside his; darkly angular, part-Asian looks and serious expression contrasting with Wes's own dirty-blond hair, blue eyes, and ready smile. "I thought your father wanted you to wear a suit," Eric remarked after a critical glance.

"He did. But I reminded him I'm going to be there representing the Silver Guardians - along with you, of course..." he turned to face his partner, "not as a corporate VP."

"Can't say I'm sorry. You look better in uniform."

"You just hate suits. You were afraid Dad would ask you to wear one, too."

"I dunno why we have to show up at this thing anyway." Eric glanced at his own reflection and tugged impatiently at the collar of the navy blue uniform he wore.

"We have to be there because we're officers of the company." Wes smiled and reached up to make a slight adjustment to Eric's red beret and brush a stray strand of black hair back into place. "Just like we have to go to those board meetings you find so fascinating."

"Umm. Board meetings are useful, anyway."

"_That's_ a matter of opinion." Wes gave his own reflection the final once-over. "Dad wants this merger to go well. The scientists we're bringing in from BioSynth are supposed to be really good, and he wants them to stay. Some of them weren't too crazy about having to relocate, so we're supposed to make sure they're happy here."

"Probably make a better impression if we let them get on with their work, instead of dragging them to a damn party..."

"It's a casual reception, not a party. Unfortunately."

"Well. If you're done admiring yourself, let's get this over with."

They walked down the hallway side by side, passing a few other Bio-Lab employees, and reached the elevators for the ride up to the top floor suite where a collection of BioSynth executives and scientists would be officially welcomed into the company. Wes watched in amusement as Eric stabbed at the button impatiently.

The car was empty when they got on. Wes waited for the doors to shut before asking, "Are we on for Friday?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"How about dinner out? Dad mentioned a new place across town. Indian. My treat."

"Great."

"Okay if I come over after?"

That got Eric's attention. His expression softened. "Of course. You know you don't need to ask."

"Well - sometimes I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean, you're not sure?"

"Just - sometimes it's hard to tell with you, you know? You didn't sound very enthusiastic."

"Sorry. Just habit, I guess." Eric smiled, a rare warm and affectionate note in his voice. "Of course I want you to come over. Wish it could be every night..." He stepped closer, a hand rising to lightly brush Wes's cheek with his fingertips, then closer still, their bodies touching and Eric's lips teasingly grazing his.

"Mmm, so romantic... Getting soft in your old age?" Wes murmured.

"I'll show you who's _soft_." They both leaned into a kiss, gentle but lingering. It lasted until the elevator began to slow to a stop. They were standing a pace apart, side by side, when the doors opened.

- - -

Alan Collins was in full host mode, circulating around the room, steering the people he wanted to meet together, making sure everyone had refreshments and someone to talk to. Wes watched him with a private smile and a certain amount of pride. He might have decided not to pursue a business career himself, but he could admire the necessary skills his father displayed - and he had to admit that the idea of eventually taking over Bio-Lab had come to seem not entirely unattractive.

Collins was talking to a very pretty brunette when he caught sight of them. With a smile, he took her arm and beckoned them over. "Wes, Eric, I want you to meet BioSynth's top scientist. Dr. Katherine Manx, this is my son, Wesley Collins, and Eric Myers. They're co-commanders of the Silver Guardians."

"It's a pleasure. I've heard a great deal about both of you," she said in a pleasant voice with a very slight lisp. Up close, Wes saw she had eyes of an unusual shade of deep green, which dropped momentarily to glance at his wrist and Eric's; at their morphers of course. "And I think calling me a 'top scientist' is a bit of an exaggeration..."

"Don't be so modest," Collins said. "From what I've been told you're making major contributions to the main research project there. Some kind of non-lethal energy weapons, I believe."

"That's right." She smiled at Eric. "There might be some points in common with the work Dr. Michael Zaskin did on the technology of your morpher."

"That never got anywhere," Eric said, betraying a flash of alarm that Wes was sure only he had noticed.

"So I've heard. Still, I'm looking forward to working with him. In fact, that's one of the reasons I pushed for this merger."

"Then I'll introduce you right now." Collins took her arm again and headed in the direction of Dr. Zaskin's tall, slender form across the room, in conversation with a young man whose back was turned to them.

Amused, Wes watched them as Zaskin shook hands with Dr. Manx, smiling and obviously impressed more with her physical than intellectual attributes, at least for the moment. That didn't last for long; the two were almost instantly deep in conversation, undoubtedly about what their research had in common. Collins stepped past them to say something to the young man, who now turned so his face was visible.

The first thing that struck Wes about him was a resemblance to himself. They both had almost the same shade of wavy dark-blond hair, somewhat similar features, similar builds, although the other man was slightly taller and appeared to be a few years younger. It was just enough of a likeness to be noticeable.

The next thing - at that moment the young man looked in their direction. His eyes widened. At first Wes thought he was staring at _him_... but no, it was Eric who was the object of that intense gaze. He must have recognized him as the Quantum Ranger... but when Wes glanced at his partner, Eric was staring back with an almost identically startled expression. Then in another second, the blond man was talking to Collins again as if nothing had happened, and Eric had turned to look the other way.

"Who's that?" Wes asked in a low voice.

"Who's who?" Eric didn't even look.

"The guy over there, talking to Dad. Do you know him?"

"Him?" A quick glance, too fast for Eric to actually see anything. "I - I dunno."

"He certainly seemed to recognize _you_."

"You want some coffee?"

"No, I-"

"I want some coffee. Be right back."

Eric threaded his way through the crowd in the general direction of the coffee urns, passing near Collins and the mysterious man. Wes thought they exchanged a glance, but couldn't be sure. As he frowned in puzzlement, wondering whether to go after his partner and lover, a familiar voice called his name.

"Wesley! I'd like you to meet Jake Walsh, one of our new chemists from BioSynth..."

One of Bio-Lab's executives, choosing the wrong moment for an interruption. Wes sighed, and hoisted a smile onto his face before turning around. He was introduced, shook hands, and made a couple of minutes of polite conversation. Just as he managed to find an opening to excuse himself and escaped, a hand dropped on his shoulder.

"Getting acquainted with everyone, Wes?" His father was beaming at him.

"Doing my best, Dad; but not everyone, yet." Wes looked around. There was no sign of Eric or the blond young man. "Who was that you were talking to before? Right after you introduced Mike Zaskin and Dr. Manx?"

"Um... Tate? Right, Nicolas Tate. One of their promising young biophysicists, still finishing up his PhD but doing some valuable work. I don't see him now."

"No. Neither do I," Wes said with a frown.

- - -

Eric led the way into a small office he had known would be empty, and turned. Nick stepped through the door and closed it behind him. They stood, looking at each other.

Nick Tate... Out of all the men he had known in the Army, it had to be Nicky who showed up at Bio-Lab. Out of all the men he had been with, had sex with, it had to be Nick. The others had mostly been just faces and bodies, just quick encounters, sometimes without even an exchange of names. Nick had been different, from the first time they met...

_It had been the resemblance that caught his attention first, and kept him looking just a few seconds too long. The young man sitting with a small group at a table halfway across the room was far from identical to Wes, but had strongly reminded him of the schoolmate he had had such a hopeless crush on years ago. _

_The blond man looked up at him, obviously noticing the attention. Hastily Eric pulled his gaze away and turned on his stool to lean his elbows on the bar, head down. He was in a little place near the base where he was stationed, nothing fancy, but comfortable and popular with the soldiers. Definitely not a gay bar, and it might not be healthy to be caught scoping out men. Still - he couldn't resist another quick glance in the mirrored wall behind the bar. The guy was still looking at him, his expression curious and frankly interested. Eric held the gaze for a few seconds before devoting himself to studying the remaining beer in his glass. _

_He was draining the last of it when a form appeared beside him and leaned over the bar to give an order to the bartender. Dark-blond hair, a nice, friendly face - which turned in his direction. The young man propped himself on the next stool and smiled. Eric nodded, and again pretended to be interested in his drink. _

"_You from the base, too?" _

"_Yeah." Eric raised a brow; virtually every man who hung out in this place was a soldier. "What gave it away?" _

"_Stupid question, huh?" The man laughed and put out his hand. "I'm Nick." _

"_Eric." Their hands stayed in contact just a moment or two longer than necessary. "Haven't seen you around here before." _

"_I haven't been around all that long. Got transferred in a few weeks ago." _

_Eric nodded. The base was big enough that they might not have met before now. "First time in this part of town?" he asked. _

"_Yeah. Came with a few buddies." Nick nodded in the direction of the table he had come from. "Want to join us?" _

"_Nah," Eric said automatically. "Gonna head back." _

"_Too bad. It's not very late." _

"_No, but I've had enough for one night. Enough drinking, anyway." He gave Nick a longer look, from head to foot, seeing the other man return it with one that was equally appraising and appreciative, and decided to risk it. "I wouldn't mind some company on the way back, if you wanna get out of here," he said in a low voice. _

_Nick hesitated, his face turning to his friends. "I'd like to, but we just got here," he answered, his voice also lowered. _

"_Suit yourself." Eric dug in his pocket and dropped a couple of bills on the bar. He stood as Nick's drinks arrived. _

"_Hey..." Nick was looking up at him. "This'll sound stupid too, but - you come here often?" _

_Eric shrugged. "Once or twice a week, I guess." _

"_Then maybe some other time." _

"_Maybe. See ya."_

Now, in a small room in Bio-Lab, Nick faced him again. He was no longer a kid barely old enough to drink, but an adult. Still attractive. Still with the same smile - at the moment a faint and tentative smile. "You haven't changed much," he said. "How long has it been? Five years, at least?"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

The smile faltered and died. "That's obvious, isn't it? I work for BioSynth. Actually, now I work for Bio-Lab, just like you."

"You knew I'd be here, didn't you?"

"Well, I knew you live in Silver Hills... Figured we might run into each other, but it was still kind of a surprise-"

"What do you want?"

Nick stared, either confused or doing a good imitation. "What do you mean, what do I want?"

What _did_ he mean? Nick hadn't done anything but show up... and he had always intended to go into science, it made sense he worked for an outfit like BioSynth... but still... why here? Why now? "Nothing," Eric muttered. "I'm just - I'm just surprised, like you."

The smile reappeared. "So - how have you been?"

"Okay."

"Yeah, I guess so. You've gotten what you always wanted, haven't you? A good job with a big company, good money, important friends, and that morpher I've heard so much about..." He trailed off.

Eric was glaring at him with growing suspicion at the listing of what he had. What someone might want to take away. "If you've got any ideas of telling _anyone_ about me - about us - just forget it," he growled, voice lowered.

But Nick surprised him by glaring right back. "Is that what this is about?" he retorted in a furious near-whisper. "Do you think I'm here to blackmail you or something?"

"You threatened me, remember?"

"I was upset! Just saying things... I said I didn't mean it!"

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Yes you are!" They had come a few steps closer, facing off angrily. "Listen, pal, I have just as much to lose as you do if this gets out. I'm married now, with a baby-"

"_Married?_ You?"

"I told you from the beginning I was bi! Yeah, I'm married, happily."

"And I guess you forgot to tell your _wife_ you like to take it up the ass!"

"That's all over now! I met Lyn after I got out of the service, and I haven't been with anyone else since, male or female!"

"Yeah, always the faithful type, weren't you?" Eric growled sarcastically.

"And I guess you're back to picking up tricks in bars!"

Stung, Eric moved back a little. "No," he said more quietly. "No, I'm not into that anymore."

"Eric Myers? Settled down? Who's the lucky guy?" Nick smiled thinly, his eyes still cold.

"No one. None of your business."

"Fine. Look..." Nick shoved his hands in his pockets, his expression becoming more unhappy than angry. "Like it or not, we're going to have to work together. Can't we be civil, at least?"

"Just as long as we understand each other."

"I guess we do." Nick didn't move aside as Eric started to take a step for the door. "It's a shame," he said softly. "We meant something to each other once, didn't we? And now..."

Eric stopped, face to face with him. "I always told you all I wanted was a good time. No ties. Nothing permanent," he said. "Maybe you didn't like it, but that's the way I was back then. Now you're married, and I've moved on too. The best thing is to just forget about it."

"Forget about it. I guess so."

- - -

A minute later Eric found Wes again, talking to his father and a couple of BioSynth people. As he debated joining them, or just standing there, or maybe finding some excuse to leave; Wes caught his eye, said something to the others, and headed his way.

"Thought you were going to get coffee." The remark wasn't quite a question.

"I got sidetracked."

"By that guy?"

Eric frowned, and decided to tell at least part of the truth. "Yeah. I remembered where I know him from."

"Where?"

"The Army. A long time ago. We were stationed at the same base."

"Uh huh." Wes was looking at him curiously.

"It was kind of a shock to see him again, you know? Don't bump into too many guys from back then, and it's been years since we saw each other..." Eric realized he had said more than enough and shut his mouth firmly. Nick had appeared on the far side of the room and looked their way, his eyes on Eric for a moment, then on Wes, then back, before he half-smiled and turned as Katherine Manx said something to him.

Eric turned his back. "How soon can we get out of here?" he muttered.

TBC...


	2. Connection

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Connection

- - -

Their new laboratories were certainly well equipped, one of the advantages of joining forces with - or being absorbed by - a large company with deep pockets. Kat heard a soft buzz of excited conversation behind her as the small group of scientists she headed spread out into the room. She ran an expert eye over workbenches, supplies, and instruments, all better than what they were used to at BioSynth. Absently she touched the clean, shining surface of a metal storage cabinet, catching sight of the hologrammatically disguised reflection of her own face, still a little disconcerting even after all this time. Maybe someday soon she'd no longer need to pretend, but not yet.

"Pretty nice, huh, Kat?" a voice asked.

Nick was standing behind her, Jake Walsh at his side. Giving them a quick smile, she answered, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"We should be able to make some real progress here."

"Yes, we should." Especially if she could get her hands on the records of Dr. Zaskin's experiments with the Quantum morpher. Better yet, if she could get her hands on one of the morphers themselves. There was still time, but unforeseen events had slowed them down... She glanced again at both of them and asked, "How are you settling in, by the way?"

"Okay," Nick answered. "Our furniture came yesterday, and Lyn's getting things unpacked. Wish I could be there to help out more. It's a lot of work, what with taking care of the baby too."

Jake nodded. "Wish I had time to pitch in more myself. At least I'll be on my own and off your hands soon, I hope."

Nick smiled. "Hey, you're family. Lyn wouldn't want her brother staying in a hotel. Besides, you're doing as much as you can to help."

"Everything will work out fine, I'm sure." Kat hesitated. "How's Schuyler doing?"

Nick gave her a quick, uncomfortable look. "Well - it happened again, Kat. Lyn was feeding him and - something invisible kept pushing the spoon away. When she kept trying, it knocked the jar right out of her hands. It stopped when she changed to a food he likes better - but she was scared. She's sure he did it somehow. That he can control it."

"Oh." Kat's heart sank. "I'm sorry to hear it. How's he doing otherwise?"

"Fine. But we're nervous about taking him to a doctor - what if he gets upset when he gets a shot or something and does the same thing, only worse?"

"We'll handle it when the time comes. Maybe I can take over his routine care; I'm qualified as a medical doctor. Don't worry."

"Don't worry?" Jake demanded, his voice lowered but sharp and his eyes narrowing slightly. "This is my nephew we're talking about. How do we know the long-term effects? What about the Carsons' baby? And Callie Drew is pregnant now too. What if the same thing happens to her kid? All of our kids, when we have them?"

"Look, Sky's happy and healthy, despite his extra ability," Kat said, trying to sound reassuring. "I'm sure he'll stay that way. Besides..." She sighed. "What's done is done. We have to make the best of it, knowing it was in a good cause."

"A good cause?" Jake said. "What good cause? You've never explained-"

"Shh. Company." Hastily she stopped talking as two uniformed men walked through the door and stopped to look around. Wes Collins spotted her, grinned and raised a hand in a half-wave, and started in their direction. Eric Myers followed more slowly, his expression impressing her as reluctant.

"Morning, Dr. Manx," Wes said as he reached them. "Thought we'd see how you like your new lab."

"It's wonderful. And please, call me Kat."

"Kat Manx..." His lips quirked, although he was too polite to say anything more.

"Yes, I get a lot of jokes. Maybe that wasn't the best choice of a name. On my parents' part, of course."

"It's very pretty," he said gallantly, and went on to her companions. "Jake, right? I met so many people yesterday; I hope I got the names straight."

"Yes. Nice to see you again."

"And this is Eric Myers..." Kat saw curiosity in the look Wes gave Nick as he put out a hand. "Hi, I'm Wes Collins."

"I know. I'm Nick Tate." Nick glanced at Eric and then back to Wes, his face tightening slightly.

"Eric tells me you two already know each other."

Nick's and Eric's eyes met. They both nodded, but what Kat sensed passing between them was anything but friendly. "Yes, we met in the Army. We were both stationed at Fort Dartmouth, outside New York," Nick said, crossing his arms, a faintly ironic smile on his face. "We spent quite a bit of time together for about a year, until he was discharged. Right, Eric?"

"I guess," Eric replied curtly.

"So you guys knew each other pretty well?" Wes had picked up on the tension between them too, judging by his slightly baffled expression.

"Not as well as I thought," Nick said, his tone edged subtly with sarcasm. Eric's eyes flared in unmistakable anger.

Wes glanced between them, his brows creasing. "Well... Always nice to meet one of Eric's old friends..." he said, and took a step back. "We should leave you to get on with your work. Eric, you coming?"

In another moment they had disappeared through the door, leaving a puzzled Kat to watch Nick stalk off to another corner of the lab, and Jake staring after the two Silver Guardians. She shrugged and sighed. Humans. Despite her years and experience, sometimes they were still beyond her understanding.

- - -

"Well? Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Wes had waited only long enough for them to reach an unoccupied storeroom on the way back to the Silver Guardians' area of Bio-Lab before stopping Eric with a hand on his arm.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb." Wes hadn't raised his voice, but Eric could hear the annoyance. "What is it with you and Nick Tate?"

"Nothing."

"Look, I didn't say anything when you sneaked off to talk to him yesterday-"

"I didn't _sneak_."

"Do you have a problem with him or something? Did he give you a hard time in the Army? If he did..."

"No, nothing like that."

"Then why'd he act like that?"

"Why don't you ask _him_?"

"Maybe I should."

"No!" He sighed and repeated more quietly, "No, don't ask him."

"Eric..." Wes moved closer and lightly grasped his shoulders. "Something's wrong, isn't it?" He hesitated, his fingers tightening. "Does it have anything to do with... Did he find out you're gay?"

Eric half-smiled. "Yeah, I think he knows."

"What do you mean?"

"It's been over for years, Wes. Just - leave it alone."

"Oh." Wes's hands dropped away. His face betrayed dismay, even hurt, before he hid it. "I get it. Finally."

"It was nothing. Don't even think about it." Eric watched Wes's face, trying not to look anxious.

"Hey, I always knew I wasn't the first guy for you. No reason for me to get upset just because one of your old boyfriends shows up."

"You were the first one who mattered. The only one who matters now."

"You don't have to say that."

"But it's true." He hesitated. "So you're okay with it?"

"I wish you'd just told me, instead of making me drag it out of you, but..." Wes moved in, producing a brief smile before the warmth of his lips pressed Eric's. "Does that answer your question?" he asked after a few moments.

"It's a start." Eric kissed him back, harder, arms pulling their bodies closer together.

"Hey..." Wes's smile was more genuine this time. "I hate to stop this, but we'd better save it for a better time."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

They continued on their way to their offices and said a casual goodbye at Wes's door. Eric turned away to go on to his own office, his feet automatically finding the way but his mind already drifting, returning to a dark street in New York six years ago. He had told Wes the truth... most of it. What he had felt for Nick was only a pale shadow of what he now felt for Wes. But - much as he had tried to deny it at the time, and as much as he didn't want to admit it now, Nick hadn't been nothing. He had been a great deal more...

"_Hey, whoa! Not so fast!" _

_Eric pulled back far enough to see Nick's face, the hand he had reached down between their bodies stopping its exploration. "What's the problem?" he muttered. _

"_The problem is we just met." Nick pushed him off and stepped away from the alley wall Eric had pressed him against. "The problem is... Shouldn't we get to know each other a little first?" _

"_What for?" _

"_I prefer to at least know someone's last name before we go at it." _

"_Okay, it's Myers. Happy now?" _

_Nick gave him an exasperated look. "There's more to it than that. I just don't like doing it with strangers, is all." _

"_Hey, I thought that was what we came out here for. But if you're not interested, there's plenty others who are." _

"_**I** thought we came out here to walk back to base together, not to get it on in the first dark alley we pass." _

"_Oh yeah? I didn't come back here tonight just to take a walk!" _

"_You mean you came here to meet me?" _

_Caught, Eric frowned and shrugged. "Well... I hang out around here all the time." _

"_Yeah, right. And that's why you're looking even better than the other night. All dressed up just to hang out with the guys." _

"_I'm not..." Eric couldn't help smiling. "You think I look good?" _

_Nick looked him up and down and grinned. "Yes, I do." He held up a hand as Eric moved at him again. "But I still want to talk first." _

"_Jesus H. Christ. What do you wanna talk about?" _

"_Well... What you do on the base. Background information, like parents. Friends. Lovers." _

_Eric shook his head, amused in spite of himself. "Okay, already. Special Ops, working in security. Gone. Very few. And... didn't get their names. Now you." _

"_Umm... First off, my last name's Tate. Biophysics, weapons research. Typical middle-class mid-Western family. A few friends, here and there. And... a few lovers. Both men and women." He cast a glance at Eric. _

"_Like it both ways, do you?" _

"_I'm equal opportunity." _

"_And you're a - what did you say? Biophysicist?" _

"_Yeah, it's no big deal. You're Special Ops? What's your specialty, hand-to-hand? Sharpshooting?" _

"_Martial arts." _

"_Hey, maybe you could give me a few lessons. And I can teach you all about quantum mechanics." _

"_Why the hell would I want to know about quantum anything?" _

_Before he realized it they had started walking again, still deep in conversation, that dingy alleyway left far behind._

Had it been the resemblance to Wes? No, that had been what attracted Eric to him at first, and maybe what made him persist when ordinarily he would have moved on to easier game. But no, there had been more to Nick than his appearance. That was what had made it last. For a while.

- - -

Nicolas Tate. One of the perks of being commander of the Silver Guardians was having full access to Bio-Lab personnel records. It had taken a few hours, but curiosity and more than a hint of jealousy had won out, and Wes had decided to use that privilege. He was now staring at a screenful of data about one Nicolas Tate. He frowned at the picture of a handsome young man with dirty-blond hair in an Army uniform.

Nicolas Tate... Married. One son, eight months old, named Schuyler. That was a surprise; either the guy was bisexual or covering - or it wasn't a conventional marriage. Another question, in addition to the ones he already had. Why the hostility between Nick and Eric that had been so obvious? What had happened between them? Something that had left them with hard feelings, even after all this time? Or maybe the guy was just uncomfortable at being confronted with a gay ex-boyfriend? Or - were there other feelings involved? Did he want Eric back?

Wes shook his head and closed the computer file. There was no reason to look for trouble, and every reason not to start acting like a jealous lover. Even if Nick was interested, Eric wouldn't be. Or at least that's what he said... Better to forget about it; think about something else. Wes looked at the pile of papers in his inbox and sighed. Sometimes work had its uses.

It seemed like any other letter, at first, a plain envelope, computer-printed, addressed to him at Bio-Lab. The single sheet of paper inside seemed blank at first glance. Wes unfolded it, read it, and frowned. Strange. Just some weirdo, probably.

"Huh," he muttered after a moment's hesitation. "It's a secret from me, too." A moment later he tossed it aside to be filed with the other assorted threats and rants, trying to ignore his lingering sense of uneasiness.

- - -

Alan Collins scowled at the envelope in his hand, and the folded piece of paper that had come out of it. He hesitated, and then shrugged. He had a drawer full of similar things, no reason this one should be any different, and yet somehow it disturbed him. Inevitably a company like Bio-Lab was a target for all kinds of nutcases and fanatics, and this was probably nothing to be concerned about.

Still... For the work of a nutcase or fanatic, it was relatively rational. There was no real threat included, but there was the implication of one. More important to him, there was the implication that something was going on in his company that he had no knowledge of. No real reason to take it seriously, and yet it was mysterious enough to make him read what was written there again.

'_You can't hide your secret for long._'

"What secret?" he murmured. "Whose secret?"

- - -

Kat's first impulse was to crumple the paper in her hands. Unfortunately, that wouldn't make it go away. She contented herself with a quiet hiss that no one outside her small office would hear, even if most of them hadn't already left for the day.

What would happen if the truth about the effects their experiments had had on her co-workers came out? If the public found out about Schuyler? The research would be stopped, just when it seemed like they were making real progress. Sky would be treated like a freak and possibly taken away from his parents. She herself would be investigated. If they looked into her manufactured past and found out that she had simply appeared five years ago, seemingly from nowhere, with fake credentials... And if they discovered the real truth, long before this world was prepared to deal with it?

'_You can't hide your secret for long.' _

But the secret of what had happened at BioSynth had to remain hidden, along with all the secrets behind it, the ones even her team didn't know. No matter what it took. Too much depended on it, and on her.

- - -

"Shit!" Eric muttered, staring at it.

'_You can't hide your secret for long._'

Ordinarily he would have assumed it was directed at Bio-Lab, not at himself personally, but now - with Nick here, with the memory of the threat that had been spoken between them so long ago... What else could it be? If it got out to the public and the news media that he was gay - at best, things would change. At worst, it could hamper his effectiveness and undermine his leadership of the Guardians. Mr. Collins would stand by him, but the situation would still be difficult.

And if Wes got involved... Eric's stomach churned at the thought. He could take just about anything as long as it was just him - but to have Wes exposed to embarrassment, or jokes, or criticism because of him, to bring trouble on his lover because of someone from his own past - no, he couldn't let it happen. He wouldn't let anyone make Wes regret their relationship.

And there was only one way he knew how to settle it. Grimly, Eric refolded the paper and shoved it in his pocket. If Nick wanted some kind of revenge after all this time, he was going to find it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

- - -

TBC...


	3. Relationship

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Relationship

- - -

"What the hell is _this_?" Eric tossed the note on Nick's desk. The previous night had done nothing to calm him down. Just the opposite; hours of too much thinking and too little sleep had him on the verge of explosion. He had barely been able to stay silent long enough to close Nick's office door behind him.

"What are you talking about?" Nick shot him a defiant look before picking up the sheet of paper. A crease appeared between his brows as he read it. "'You can't hide your secret for long.' What secret?"

"Why don't you tell _me_?"

Nick stared up from his seat. "What's your problem? This is probably just some nutjob sending you something that doesn't make any sense. We got the same kind of thing at BioSynth."

Eric crossed his arms. "And I guess you had nothing to do with it."

"Of course I had nothing to do with it!"

"Am I supposed to take your word for that?"

Nick's voice dropped into anger as he got to his feet. "I don't see why not."

"And I suppose it's just coincidence that I get this note talking about my 'secrets' right after _you_ arrive in town?" Eric growled.

"Yes, damn it, it's a coincidence!" Nick ground out. They were both leaning across the desk, almost nose to nose. "Back off, Eric. I don't have time for your paranoia."

"Well, you'd better _make_ time, or..."

"Or what?" They glared at each other until Nick sighed, his expression softening. "Look, do you honestly think I would do something like that?"

"After what you said-"

"I know what I said! How many times do you want me to apologize? We were together for a year - doesn't that count for more than one lousy argument?" Nick seemed to forcibly calm himself with a deep breath as Eric stared at him coldly. He straightened and then came around the side of the desk. "You should know me better than to even ask, but I swear; I had nothing to do with that note."

For a moment they looked into each other's eyes. Eric tried to hold on to his suspicions, but he found himself unable to believe it. Nick was right; he had never been vindictive or cruel, in fact just the opposite. He wasn't capable of this.

And maybe the change of heart showed. "Look, can't we put the past behind us?" Nick asked. "Try to be friends, at least?"

"Friends? You and me?" Eric said skeptically. "After everything that happened between us... I dunno."

"Why not? We had some good times together, didn't we?"

"Yeah. I guess we did." Good times. Some of those times had been very good indeed...

"_Oh, man..." _

_Eric felt Nick's chest still heaving underneath him as they both caught their breath. Comfortably spent, he rolled off and sprawled on the bed, closing his eyes. "Not too bad, huh?" he asked after a moment. _

"_Unbelievable." _

"_Glad you liked it." Eric smiled at the ceiling. While he always wanted to impress whoever he was with, this time it had somehow been even more important - not only to impress Nick but to please him. It hadn't been easy - more conversation, dinner, and then - finally - this rendezvous in a nearby hotel. Eric had even offered to pay for the room, but Nick had insisted on splitting it. _

"_Now, isn't this better than doing it up against an alley wall?" _

"_I dunno. I've had some of my best moments up against alley walls." _

"_Very funny." Nick rolled onto his side, propping himself on an elbow, and ran a hand over Eric's chest. "And the night's not over, yet." _

"_Will be soon. Gotta get back to base in a couple of hours." _

"_Why? We can get up in plenty of time to make formation." _

_Eric's eyes shifted away. "My roommate'll ask questions." _

"_So tell him you met a girl and got lucky. Tell him you got drunk in a bar and passed out. Tell him anything." _

"_Nah. I don't wanna have to deal with that." _

"_Well, okay." Nick looked disappointed, but he smiled. "If you insist on getting out of a warm bed, I'll go back with you. If you don't mind." _

"_Of course I don't mind." Relieved, Eric smiled too. _

_Nick leaned over, his lips contacting Eric's, his tongue slipping between them... A moment later he raised his head with an inquiring look. "What's wrong?" _

"_Sorry. I'm not really into kissing." _

"_No kissing. No sleeping over. My friend, you have a lot to learn about romance." Nick's tone was teasing, but Eric didn't miss the slight crease between his brows. _

"_I'm interested in sex, not romance." _

"_They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Try the kissing part again, at least. Maybe it'll grow on you." _

_They tried it again. Nick was right. Kissing wasn't such a bad thing. Not bad at all._

- - -

Wes stood in Eric's office doorway, frowning. His partner had to be around somewhere; the door was open, the light was on, and he wouldn't leave the Bio-Lab grounds without checking in. So where was he? Why hadn't he come by to say hello, or been in his office waiting for their usual morning consultation? Especially today - while he had dismissed the note the day before, it had stayed on Wes's mind throughout the evening, and returned in the morning. _Secrets..._ It was probably nothing, but he still wanted to mention it, and see what Eric thought.

It was the third person he asked, the Bio-Lab lobby receptionist, who knew. "Commander Myers?" she said. "He was here a little while ago, asking where Nicolas Tate's office is. So that's probably where he went."

"Nicolas Tate?" Wes tried not to feel dismay, and hoped it didn't show.

"One of the new guys from BioSynth."

"Yeah, I know who he is. Thanks." Wes started away. He almost headed straight for the section where the BioSynth employees had been assigned, but... Would it look like he was checking up? Like he didn't trust Eric? Which he did, of course. No, better to go back and wait to run into his partner in the course of the day. It was only natural that Eric would want to talk to an old friend, after all this time. _But they talked at the reception..._ They must have more to say to each other. _Like what?_ No, Eric wasn't like that. _But what about Nick?_

- - -

"Some times were good," Eric admitted.

"Glad you remember."

"But some weren't. Don't forget that part, either."

"Don't worry, I haven't." Nick paused, taking a moment to prop himself on the edge of the desk, and then asked quietly, "How much have you changed, Eric? Do you want all the things with your new guy that you didn't want with me?"

Eric looked up. "What are you talking about? What makes you think I'm with anyone?"

"It's Wes Collins, isn't it?"

"Leave him out of this, dammit!"

"I guess that answers my question," Nick said dryly.

Eric's anger and suspicion had returned, full force. "What do you know about Wes? What the hell are you doing, spying on me or something?"

"Relax, will you? No, I haven't been spying. You told me about him, remember?"

Eric almost denied it, but then he realized what Nick meant. They _had_ talked about Wes, once. In a way.

"_Have you ever been in love?" _

"_Mmm?" Eric stirred, and blinked up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Nick's roommate was away for the day on a visit to his family and the two of them had dropped by his room to pick up a jacket. Of course, they had ended up together in Nick's narrow bed. The sex had been even more exciting than usual, with the knowledge that if they were caught together like this on base they could be in serious trouble. _

"_I said-" _

"_I heard you. What kind of a question is that?" _

"_It's a normal question. People do fall in love, you know. I was wondering if it's ever happened to you." _

_Eric snorted faintly. "Hell, no. Do I seem like the kind of guy to get all mushy and romantic?" _

_Nick grinned. "You? Never. Still, you must have felt something for somebody along the line. A little affection. A crush. Something." _

"_Well... There was a guy in that prep school I went to for a year." _

"_Yeah? Tell me about him." _

_Eric shifted in the bed to focus on Nick's face. He had almost forgotten the resemblance, but there it was, bringing its echoes of longing and frustration. "Nothing much to tell," he said, a little reluctantly. "He was from Silver Hills. A rich kid, but nice." _

"_What did he look like?" _

"_Uh... sort of blond. Blue eyes. Kinda looked like you, actually." _

"_So what happened?" _

"_Nothing. We were just kids. It never went anywhere." He frowned, trying not to remember the results of his one clumsy attempt to make an advance; the look on Wes's face when he almost seemed about to respond - the embarrassment when they had almost been seen - and the way they had both started to avoid each other afterwards. _

"_Poor Eric, disappointed at an early age... Is that why you don't believe in love?" _

"_I just don't need it, that's all. Some people think they have to be in love to get laid, but not me. I believe in sticking to the basics." _

"_That's all it ever is to you? Just getting laid?" _

_Eric's eyes moved to Nick's face again, seeing a shadow of disappointment and hurt there. "Well, not all," he said awkwardly. "Not all the time... Look..." He reached to run his fingers over the other man's cheek, and kissed him. "I like you, a lot. But don't expect more than that. I don't think I can give it, to you or anyone else." _

_Nick returned his gaze, his expression serious and uncomfortably direct. "What hurt you so badly that you think you can't fall in love?" he asked softly. _

_Eric tensed for an instant, and knew Nick felt it. "Nothing," he answered quickly before sitting up and swinging his feet off the bed, looking around for his clothes. "It's getting late; I'd better get out of here."_

"It didn't take too much to figure out that the rich kid from Silver Hills you knew in school who looked like me had to be Wes," Nick was saying. "When I saw the two of you at the reception the other day and found out who he was, it all clicked into place." He leaned back, crossing his arms. "He seems like a nice guy. I guess I should be happy for you."

"Yeah, he's a nice guy. I don't want anything to hurt him. Or any_one_," Eric said. "Remember that."

"You really are in love, aren't you? Never thought I'd see the day." The smirk on Nick's face had just a hint of hostility. "Back with your high school sweetheart. How romantic."

"Wes was not my 'high school sweetheart.' And shut up."

"Tell me, was that the only reason you hooked up with me? Because I look like him?"

Eric bit back an angry retort as he heard the hurt underneath his former lover's voice. For the first time it occurred to him just what it might feel like to think you had been nothing but a substitute for someone else in the eyes of a person you cared for. Another lesson Wes had unintentionally taught him: the pain of jealousy and rejection.

"No," he muttered. "Maybe that first night we met, but after that - I always liked you for yourself."

Nick stared at him, his expression unreadable. Finally he unfolded his arms. "Sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have said that. And I guess I shouldn't have acted the way I did in the lab yesterday. Anyway, while I'm sure we're both really enjoying this trip down memory lane, I have to meet Lyn and the baby in half an hour. So if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of things to take care of first."

Eric nodded silently. Nick was still standing, leaning against the desk and staring at the wall, when he opened the door and left.

- - -

Sky Tate was a cute baby. Even Kat, who didn't particularly like babies, had to smile at his almost-toothless grin. That just made it even more uncomfortable to remember what her work had done to him, and more important to hope that he would come to no permanent harm.

"What do you think?" Lynda's face, framed by blonde hair a few shades lighter than her husband's, was anxious.

"I think he looks fine," Kat said.

Nick rested an arm around his wife's shoulders. "What about the genetic abnormalities? Any change?"

She sighed inwardly. Both Nick and Lyn knew the answer to that; they were just in denial. The tests she had done two months ago, when he first showed signs of his peculiar ability, had shown mutated sequences of DNA. That wouldn't have changed. "I won't know until the results are back," she said. "But it'll almost certainly be the same. The important thing is not what the tests show, but what we're looking at. A healthy baby."

"But the things he can do..." Lyn said.

"I know. Possibly that will stop. Most likely not. You'll have to teach him how to deal with it."

"And the others?" Nick asked. "Paul's taking it okay so far, even though his son has the same kind of genetic changes. But when you told us about this, Maria and Dave were scared enough to just take off. Callie is pregnant, and she's going to go. Jake doesn't say much, but he's not happy. Lyn wants me to leave, too."

"I hope you won't. Our research is vital to developing new, non-lethal weaponry and defensive armor for law enforcement. If we can duplicate morpher technology and maybe even improve on it, who knows how many lives that could save?"

Kat watched them exchange a glance. Unfortunately, Nick had hit on another of her pressing problems. Maria Delgado and David Landors, her lab technicians, had already abandoned the project and disappeared. Among the scientists, Callie Drew had given in her notice as soon as she discovered she was pregnant, and planned to go into teaching after the baby was born. Jake Walsh seemed reluctant to continue. There was still Paul Carson, and those of the team who hadn't been directly affected - but Nick was one of her top people. If he left, it would be a serious blow.

"I know it's important, and I want to stay." Nick was looking at his wife. "But only if it's okay with you."

Lyn met his eyes with a worried frown. "Well - I want you to do what you think is best... But we have to be sure nothing like this will ever happen again."

"It won't," Kat said firmly. "With the resources we have here at Bio-Lab, we don't have to cut corners, and we have a better idea of what we're dealing with now. No, it won't happen again. Trust me."

A few minutes later she watched Nick and Lyn carry their baby out of the small lab they had used as an examining room. _Trust me,_ she had said, and yet even they didn't know the whole truth about the work they were all doing. And they had no idea of the truth about _her_.

She began to wonder how long that situation would last when she returned to her office and saw an envelope lying on her desk. She wondered even more after her phone rang.

- - -

They met at the door to Mr. Collins' office. Eric paused with his hand on the knob and waited for Wes to reach him. "Hey," he said. "Your dad called you, too?"

"Yeah, said he needed to talk to us." Wes seemed subdued, his usual cheerful smile nowhere in evidence.

"Anything wrong?"

"Just wondering what's going on."

"Well then, let's find out what's on his mind." Eric opened the door and led the way inside.

They crossed the large office and stood in front of the desk, Eric automatically falling into his usual at-ease stance but Wes in a more informal position. Collins nodded to them in greeting. Eric took another look, and noticed an envelope in his employer's hands, plain white, the address computer-printed. Just like the one in his own pocket.

"I called you both in because of this," Collins said. He withdrew a sheet of paper from the envelope and unfolded it, his eyes dropping to read it. "'The secret of BioSynth will destroy you. Stop the research.'" He raised his eyes. "This is the second note like this that I've gotten. As far as I know, the BioSynth people are trying to develop non-lethal weaponry for law enforcement, based on what they've seen of your morphers. Any idea why someone would think that's going to destroy us?"

"No. But I've gotten two notes, too." Wes reached into a jacket pocket, and took out a piece of paper. "'The secret of BioSynth will destroy you. Stop the research.' I got the first one yesterday. Thought it was just the usual kind of stuff we get, but then this one came today."

Eric sighed and pulled out his own letter, holding it up. "Same for me," he said. "And no idea what this secret research they're talking about is. But the two notes are on the same brand of envelope and paper. Looks like the same printing, too. I'm sure they're from the same person."

"That's what I thought. It's time to take this matter seriously." Collins' eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Dr. Manx has some impressive credentials for someone so young: degrees in physics, chemistry, and medicine. Very impressive indeed... If she's conducting research I don't know about, I want to find out." He reached for his telephone, dialed, and looked up at them when he spoke.

"Dr. Manx, I think we need to have a talk with you and the other people from BioSynth. As soon as possible."

- - -

TBC...


	4. Jealousy

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Jealousy

- - -

Wes watched as the former employees of BioSynth came into the main lab assigned to them and found seats on various benches and stools, their faces expressing everything from curiosity to resentment to anxiety. Nick Tate was among the last to enter, darting a quick look at them. Katherine Manx stood near himself, his father, and Eric, silently watching, her face giving no clue to what was passing behind those green eyes. Finally she gave them a nod. Everyone was present.

Collins cleared his throat, smiled and stepped forward a little, waiting another few seconds for everyone's attention. When they were all watching expectantly he began, as confident and commanding as at one of his board meetings.

"I wish this was as pleasant an occasion as the reception a few days ago, but it isn't. Something has come up that I want to speak to all of you about." A roomful of faces followed his movements as he brought out two sheets of paper. "In the last two days, I've received these two notes. Wes Collins and Eric Myers, commanders of the Silver Guardians, got identical copies of the same notes. I've just learned that your own Dr. Manx has also."

He glanced down at the papers. "They both talk about a secret, one that involves BioSynth." He paused. Some of his audience were watching him with heightened attention. Some were exchanging furtive glances. All had reacted, if only by an increase in tension.

"They're not a threat, not exactly. Not yet, although that may be coming. At this point I want to ask all of you - do you know anything about this?" He waited, and got no response. "Any idea who could be behind it? Or what the secret they refer to is? No? Very well."

He smiled. "Then let me assure all of you that we will certainly get to the bottom of this. The Silver Guardians are one of the best security forces in the world, and they have all the resources of Bio-Lab behind them. If necessary, we'll involve the police. You're my people now, and I don't allow my people to be threatened or harassed in any way." He paused to catch the eyes of each person present. "We will find the one responsible for this, you can be sure of that. And we will deal with them. That is all."

"Thanks for the reassurance," Kat murmured as her co-workers began to quietly drift out. "It's good to have your support."

"Don't relax too much," Collins said, his voice low and a smile still firmly on his face. "There's something going on here that I don't know about. But I intend to find out."

"Anything I can do to help, just ask."

"You could tell me what your secret is."

Was that guilt Wes could see in her eyes? But no, they were a clear and unblinking green as she raised them to his father's face. "I wish I had more to contribute, but there's nothing I can tell you," she said.

It was a minute later, as the three of them walked back to the main part of Bio-Lab, that Eric spoke up. "Think she's telling the truth?"

"Kat? I didn't get the feeling she was lying," Wes answered.

"Truth is an interesting thing," Collins said with a slight smile. "Just remember - she said there's nothing she can tell. Not that there's nothing _to_ tell."

- - -

Kat stood with her back to the door of her small apartment, only a few blocks from the Bio-Lab buildings where she now worked, trying to make up her mind. She sighed. Why had she come home on her lunch break, if not to call? SPD wouldn't be able to solve her problems - but at least she could get an update on exactly how bad they were. And maybe even a little advice.

Quickly, she pulled out the portable communicator disguised as a notebook computer. It even worked as a computer - until a certain combination of keys was pressed. Over the last five years her communicators had taken on various appearances - from television to computer monitor and now to notebook. This one was more convenient than most.

And one more thing - a touch deactivated the holographic disguise projector built into the locket she always wore on a chain around her neck. Then a glance into the mirror hung over her dresser, as if to reassure herself that her own ears, eyes, teeth, and facial markings had reappeared. She nodded in satisfaction. While humans were not unattractive, she had always found them rather - bland looking. It was necessary for her to pass as human in order to live and work with them, but it was always a relief to see her own normal appearance.

It took less than a minute to connect. Kat imagined it as she waited, the signal from her communicator reaching across light years in only seconds, faster than anything the science of Earth could imagine. On a world orbiting a star the humans called Sirius, a technician in Space Patrol Delta would be setting up the connection and routing her to her commanding officer.

"Kat. It's good to see you." The voice was deep. The face that looked out at her from the screen had a long, heavy snout, deep-set eyes, and pointed ears set high on the skull. Above the neck he somewhat resembled an Earth dog, although as she knew his body was quite humanoid.

"Captain Osiris. I'm glad to see you too, sir." Kat did not smile; unlike among humans, the baring of teeth was not considered a friendly gesture by her species or his.

"Has anything happened? It's not time yet for your regular report."

"Nothing major has happened," she assured him. "But it may soon." Quickly, she summarized the current situation at Bio-Lab. "It must be someone on my team, or perhaps someone close to one of them," she finished. "Someone who knows what happened a few years ago at BioSynth, and maybe was directly involved."

"They are concerned for themselves, and for their children. It's only natural," he said heavily. "The accidental exposure to mutating agents was - regrettable."

"No one regrets it more than I do." Kat sighed. "But it happened, and nothing can change that."

"If a member of your team were to reveal the truth, what would be the consequences?"

"Our research might be stopped as too dangerous. There would be an investigation, I suppose. And there would be the obvious consequences for me if anyone looks into my past too closely."

"We can remove you from Earth if that happens."

"But you can't," she protested. "My work here is too important. We need the morpher technology."

"No one knows that more than I do." Osiris paused for a moment. "Gruumm has advanced. He and his army are moving into an attack position. So far we've been completely unable to stop him."

She stared at his image in dismay. "Attack? You don't think Sirius itself could be in danger?"

"Yes, I do. It will take a few months, possibly years. But it will happen." His eyes dropped, and then rose to hers again. "If my planet falls, if SPD falls, we will need Earth more than ever. I agree, you must continue where you are."

"If..." Kat's mind whirled, but she nodded. "I understand. Should I move up the timetable here? Think about going public sooner?"

"You may have no choice. You're now in contact with two Rangers, aren't you?"

"Wes Collins and Eric Myers. Yes."

"Perhaps you should consider telling them the truth. If anyone on Earth can understand, they can. With their cooperation and protection, your research can advance more quickly."

"That's true. If I can convince them, and get Bio-Lab management on my side, and start persuading the humans to accept the idea of aliens on Earth, and somehow find some time for my work..." She shook her head. "It's a challenge."

"One which I'm sure you can handle."

Kat nodded. "Don't worry, sir. You can count on me."

"We are, Kat. All of us are. Osiris out."

_Don't worry._ But it was no use to tell herself that. Kat allowed herself a few moments to feel helpless, bewildered, overwhelmed, and frightened - before she put away her communicator, turned her disguise back on, and quietly headed back to work; already debating plans of how and when to approach Wes Collins and Eric Myers.

- - -

It probably shouldn't have surprised him, and yet Eric felt a chill when he saw another envelope lying on his desk. Maybe it shouldn't have surprised him either when he saw that the message was different this time. He stared at it numbly. No question this time; this was meant for him. It was personal, and definitely threatening.

The sound of a soft knock on his office door penetrated the haze of anger and uncertainty. Eric looked up to see Nick. The moment stretched as they stared at each other silently, and as he wondered... Could he have been wrong? Could it be Nick after all? There had been affection between them, but also conflict, even before the end. Were those the times his former lover was remembering now?

_Eric sighed inwardly as he caught sight of Nick's face, watching him from across the room. He looked angry. Well, he was about to find out he wasn't the only one. "Excuse me a minute," Eric said to the man he had been talking to at the bar. He got up, crossed the room - ignoring the interested glances he got along the way - and slid into the other chair at Nick's small table. _

"_What the hell are you doing here?" he said, with a brittle smile for the benefit of anyone watching. _

"_Don't I have the right to hang out in gay bars and pick up tricks too?" Nick retorted. _

"_Hey, I don't give a shit what you do on your own time. But you're not the type. You came here to keep an eye on me, admit it." Eric watched as Nick's face tightened in anger. "Look, we never made promises, did we? I've never lied to you or said I was anything but what I am." _

"_And exactly what is that?" _

"_A guy who's out for a good time. A guy who doesn't want to be tied down. A guy - maybe not the kind of guy you really want." _

"_You think we should split up?" _

_Split up? For just a moment, Eric felt something strange. Fear - fear that Nick would tell him it was over, that the little corner of warmth, stability, and security he had added to Eric's life was gone. Stupid. No reason to think it would last anyway. His own parents hadn't bothered to stick around, no reason to think Nick or anyone else would. _

"_I didn't say that." Eric paused, watching him, before going on. "Look, we like each other. We like hanging out and having sex. Why try to make it more?" _

_Nick shrugged, his unhappy eyes moving to look towards the bar. "Do you even know his name?" he asked bitterly. _

"_Yeah. It's Roger." Eric turned his head. Speaking of Roger, he was already talking to someone else. Too bad, the guy had a great body - but somehow the sight didn't really bother him. _

"_Looks like you missed out." _

"_No big deal. There's always more." _

"_You come here a lot? Do this a lot?" The question was a strange echo of the first time they had met, at another bar. _

_Eric shrugged. "Sometimes. When I feel like it." No reason to explain that this was the first time in a few weeks, and the last time he had been here he hadn't even done anything beyond talking. Somehow the urge wasn't so strong in him anymore. Not that it was because of Nick, of course, it was just that with a steady supply of sex he could afford to be a little more choosy. _

"_Eric, what do you want?" Nick was looking at him, no longer angrily, but with an expression he couldn't quite read. _

"_What do you mean?" _

"_What do you want from a relationship? What do you want from sex? From me? Hell, from life?" A little smile accompanied the last question. _

"_Geez, you don't ask for a lot, do you?" Eric smiled, and then sighed in resignation when Nick just kept staring at him, waiting. The guy had the strangest habit of making him think about crazy things... "Okay. A relationship? Someone I like being around. But no promises, no expectations, both of us free to do what we want. Sex - well, I dunno. I don't think about it, I just do it. I mean - not thinking is kind of the point, isn't it? From you..." He stopped for a moment to try to come up with something that would both be honest and wouldn't set Nick off again. "We have a good time together. I just want things to go on the way they are." _

_Nick nodded. "And life?" _

"_Life? I want..." Eric's gaze wandered to the barroom wall and focused on something beyond it. "I want a good life. Money. A nice place to live. A good job, with a future that's really going somewhere. I want to _be _someone, someone important..." _

"_And love?" _

"_Love?" The question brought his attention back to Nick. "What's love got to do with anything?" _

"_I see." Abruptly, Nick stood up. "I'm going back to base. Have fun with Roger or whoever you end up in a back alley with."_

Years after Eric had watched him walk out of that bar, Nick spoke up from his office doorway. "I see you got one too," he said quietly. He held up a sheet of paper.

Eric blinked. "You too?"

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Nick smiled grimly as he came forward to stand in front of the desk.

Wordlessly, Eric smoothed out the paper he had, without realizing it, crumpled in his hand. He watched the other man lean over to read it, his face creasing into a frown, eyes narrowed. Was he faking? No, that wasn't like him. Honest to a fault, that had always been his style.

Nick read it, his voice lowered almost to a whisper. "'_BioSynth must pay. If you want to keep your own secrets, don't interfere. What would the Silver Guardians say if they knew what you did in the Army?'_" He looked up. "Mine is the same, except it says 'your wife' instead of 'the Silver Guardians'."

Eric answered just as softly. "If we both got the same thing, there's no question what they're talking about."

"Yeah. No question."

It was Eric who broke the silence this time. "This wasn't sent through the mail."

"Huh?"

"The envelope mine came in had my name and address printed on it, just like before, but there's no stamp or postmark." He raised his eyes to Nick's face. "It was left here, by someone who came to my office."

"So...?"

"So it's got to be someone with access to Bio-Lab. Someone who was in the building today."

"One of us?" Nick frowned and said thoughtfully, "I can't believe one of us would do this."

"Or someone close to one of you. Your wife was here today, wasn't she?"

Nick looked at him, his startled expression quickly becoming angry. "Lyn? No way. Why would she do something like this?"

"You tell me. And then tell me who else would be close enough to you to know about this..." He indicated the notes. "About our Army days."

"But - it's threatening to tell her about me..."

"Could be a cover-up. Are you sure she doesn't know?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. How would she find out?"

"Any other ex-boyfriends of yours around? Anyone else who knew you in the Army?"

"No, I didn't have a lot of boyfriends, and I was never into the casual stuff - don't have to tell _you_ that. And whoever this is seems to know about both of us. We were always careful; I don't think anyone suspected at the time, and I never told anyone." He looked up challengingly. "Maybe it's someone _you_ know."

"I never told anyone either. But there must be something..."

"Oh, shit."

"What?"

"The letter... No, it's impossible." But Nick's expression was worried.

"The letter?"

"I sent you a letter after you got out. It was returned." His eyes were on Eric.

Eric frowned uncomfortably. "Yeah."

"I put it away, and then I met Lyn; we started dating and I forgot all about it. Probably should have thrown it away, but..."

"Could she have found it?"

"No. I don't think so... I haven't seen it for years. Must have gotten lost when we moved."

"Does she have any reason to want the BioSynth research shut down?"

"She..." Nick stopped, swallowed, and then leaned over the desk, looking directly into Eric's face, his voice still low but intense. "You don't know Lyn. She's a great girl. If she had a problem, she'd confront me; she'd come out with it. She would never go behind people's backs and make threats like this. So - so just leave her alone. Don't even think about suspecting her."

Eric couldn't help smiling. "And you talk about _me_ being in love..." he said. "Actually, I think you're probably right. Whoever did this..." he poked at the two notes again, "knew that the Silver Guardians are getting involved with this. I think it's someone who was at our little meeting this morning. Someone in your research group. Any ideas?"

"Someone who's in our group and knows about my past - our past - too?" Nick shook his head.

Eric saw movement at the doorway and looked up, quickly and guiltily. They had kept their voices low, but Nick had left the door cracked open. Someone stood there now...

- - -

Wes stared at them. Eric was sitting behind his desk with a startled and guilty look on his face, Nick was leaning close to him, their heads together. The voices he had heard as he opened the door had been low and intimate. His reaction was instant and instinctive.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said stiffly, stepped back, turned, and walked away fast. He didn't stop when he heard Eric's voice call his name.

- - -

TBC...


	5. Confession

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Confession

- - -

Wes only glanced up as his door opened and shut. He wasn't sure whether to be glad that Eric had followed him back to his office right away or to wish he'd had more time to calm down and think about what he'd just seen - which he had to admit amounted to very little, just two people talking in an office. After a few moments of silence he looked up again to see arms folded, a carefully blank face, and dark eyes watching him cautiously.

"What?" he asked finally.

"I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong."

Wes shrugged. "I'm not thinking anything."

"Yes, you are. Don't jump to conclusions."

"I'm not jumping to anything. I saw Nick in your office. So what? You guys must have a lot to talk about."

"Actually, we do."

"Remembering the good old days, bringing each other up to date; you have so much history together, after all..." Wes heard the sourness in his own voice and stopped.

"Well, that was part of it." Eric was leaning against the doorframe now, looking infuriatingly relaxed. "But mostly we were talking about those notes."

"You were talking about the notes just now?"

"That's right."

"And this morning?" Wes watched for guilt or denial, and saw only a slightly raised eyebrow.

"You knew about that? Yeah, this morning I went to Nick's office because of the first note. I thought it was meant for me, that the big secret was about me and Nick, and I thought he sent it."

Wes blinked at that. "You thought _Nick_ sent the note? Why?"

"It's kind of a long story. Then just now, he came to my office because the two of us got a third note."

"A third note?"

"Yeah. I guess you didn't get that one?"

"No. Just the two."

"Then whoever it is doesn't know about you. That's something to be grateful for."

Wes thought about it for a moment, and then chose one question out of the many that were jostling for answers in his mind. "What did this new note say?"

Eric hesitated. "I don't want to get into it here." He smiled slightly. "Someone might walk in. We have a lot to talk about, and not just those notes. It's late anyway; how about we get out of here and go to my place?"

"A lot to talk about? Sounds serious." Wes tried not to sound anxious, and failed.

Eric smiled, more warmly this time. In an unexpected and uncharacteristic move, he crossed the room, took Wes's face between his hands, and kissed him quickly but thoroughly.

"What was that for?" Wes asked, pleased but now completely bewildered.

"For being jealous. And for trying not to show it," Eric said. "Meet you in an hour?"

Confused but smiling, Wes nodded, and a moment later was watching the door close behind his partner's back.

- - -

'_BioSynth must pay. If you want to keep your own secrets, don't interfere. What would the Silver Guardians say if they knew what you did in the Army?'_

"BioSynth must pay..." Wes repeated thoughtfully. "Pay. Do you think this is leading up to blackmail? Whoever it is, they want a payoff?"

"I don't know," Eric said, pausing as he slowly paced his living room and casting a glance at Wes, who was seated on the couch. "They seemed to want the research to stop in the first two notes."

"Maybe it's both."

"Maybe. In Nick's version of this one, it threatens to tell his wife."

"His wife..." Wes watched for signs of reaction as he went on. "I was wondering about that. I mean that Nick is married in the first place, after you and he were..."

"He's bi. You should understand; you've been with women, and you were attracted to Jen."

"Well, yeah. But I like men more, even if it took me a long time to admit it."

"According to Nick it doesn't matter if it's a guy or a girl he's with; it's the person who's important." Eric smiled ironically. "I liked the idea. Thought it was hot."

"But - apparently he wasn't that honest with his wife. He never told her about himself."

"No." Eric paused again, looking down. "I can't blame him. Big difference between telling a gay guy you picked up in a bar that you like women, and telling a girl you want to marry that you like to have sex with men."

"I guess. Still, he should have told her before they got married."

"Yeah, he should have." Eric was quiet for a few seconds before turning to face Wes again. "I have to tell you about what happened between me and Nick. The stuff I should have told you before... and why I thought he sent that note at first."

"That was in the past. You don't owe me any explanations."

"Oh, don't be so noble. Of course I do. So just listen." He moved a few more restless paces. "I told you that no one before you meant anything to me. That they were all just sex, and no more. But that wasn't really true. Nick was... different."

Wes stifled another stab of jealousy and kept his voice neutral. "How long were you guys together?"

"Just about a year. We met while we were in the Army, like I told you. He was different from most of the guys I went with. He wanted more than..." Eric smiled at the memory, "...more than a quickie in a back alley. A lot more than I wanted. Back then I was just into sex, not the kind of relationship he was after. Maybe we just never understood each other... and that's why it ended up the way it did."

"What happened?"

"We had our problems, mostly because of me. You remember what kind of attitude I had back then. After I got with Nick I mostly stopped screwing around, but I'd still go off to the bars and once in a while pick up a little action. He didn't like that. He wanted to be a couple. Still, we worked it out okay, more or less - until my tour was up. I was getting out, and he still had six months to go..."

"_It's only six months. That's nothing." _

"_Huh?" Eric had been only half-listening, concentrating on his reflection in the cracked hotel bathroom mirror as he got dressed and ready to return to base to start his final out-processing. He glanced through the open door at Nick, who had gotten his pants on and was reaching for his shirt. _

_Nick smiled at him. This had a been a special occasion, partly because it was the first time Eric had agreed to spend the entire night in a hotel room together, and partly because it would be the last time while they were both soldiers. In the morning - today, Eric realized - he would be getting out, and starting a new life. The idea was both exciting and unnerving, and had been almost all he could think about for the last several weeks. _

"_I said: it's only six months until I get out. You can get a job here in New York for that long, can't you?" _

_Eric shrugged. "I guess I could, but I'm not going to. In two weeks I'm heading back to the West Coast." _

"_California?" Nick looked disappointed. "You talked about it, but I didn't think you'd made any decisions." _

"_Well, I have now. I've got big plans." Eric smiled, although it was more an expression of determination than happiness. "And they include a job I heard about in Silver Hills. A job where I can really go someplace." _

"_Silver Hills... Well, there's a lot of research going on in that area. I guess I could find something." _

_Eric turned to stare at him. "What are you talking about?" _

"_About us going to California. Didn't you say that's what you want?" _

"_I said **I** want to go to California, not that you should go too." _

_Nick stopped buttoning his shirt and stared back. "But - I thought we'd stay together after we get out..." _

_Eric frowned, and turned back to the mirror to hide the expression. He had known this was coming, that Nick would want plans and commitments that he was unwilling to make, but he had done his best to avoid the subject and the inevitable argument up until now. Maybe that had been a mistake. "Look, it's been great between us. But I never figured on it lasting after the Army." _

"_Why not?" _

"_I'm taking off for California. You said you want to apply to a couple of research labs in the Midwest, and stay near your family. We want different things, in different places." He shrugged, lightening his tone. "What are we going to do, have phone sex?" _

"_So... I don't get it." Nick was on his feet now, confronting Eric as he stepped out of the bathroom and looked around for his shoes. "You mean - you don't even want to try? That's it? You leave and I stay here and we never see each other again?" _

"_Hey, I don't know. Maybe someday we'll run into each other and hook up again. Maybe not." _

"_But I thought we were really good together. That I meant something to you." _

_Eric looked up from tying his shoes. "You do. You're a nice guy and I like you. But - I'm not going to change my life so we can stick together, and neither should you." _

_Nick's voice turned bitter and angry as he turned his back. "So you can just walk away and never think about me again?" _

_Eric stood and came close, sliding his arms around Nick's waist from the back. "That's not true. I'm going to miss you, especially when I'm in the mood for a good-" _

_Nick jerked away and turned on him. "Dammit, I love you! I love you - and I thought you might feel the same way, just a little, somewhere in that cold, empty heart of yours!" _

_For some reason the description hurt. "Did I ever pretend with you?" Eric demanded. "No, I didn't. I don't love you, and I never did anything to make you think I do. Maybe you've got some weird fantasy of the two of us going off to live someplace with a white picket fence and shit, but that's never going to happen. So just get it through your head that it's over." Angry now, he reached for his jacket and started out. _

"_You bastard! You've got no human feelings at all, do you? Other people don't mean anything to you! You've never cared about anyone in your life except yourself, have you?" _

_Eric turned at the door. "You wanna know the truth? You don't want _me_, Nick. You want some guy you made up in your own head, and you're always trying to change me into him. You're never satisfied, always wanting more... It's going to be a relief to get away from you!" _

_Nick stared at him, breathing hard, and then shouted, all reason gone from his furious, pain-filled face. "I won't let you just walk off like this! I can make you pay!" _

"_What the hell are you talking about?" _

"_I'll follow you - find out where you're working... Tell them about us, tell them you're gay. I could make a lot of trouble for you! And wherever you go, I'll do the same thing so you never get that precious big career you want!" _

_Eric was back across the room in a heartbeat, one hand twisting Nick's collar chokingly tight, the other fist to his face. "Don't you threaten me, you piece of shit," he said in a deceptively soft voice. "Try anything - anything at all, and I'll make you regret the day you were born." He pulled his fist back - but Nick made no effort to defend himself, and the anguish he saw in the other man's face stopped him. _

_A moment later, Nick's voice came as he yanked the door open. "Eric, please... I didn't mean it..." _

_Eric threw one glance back. "But you said it." And the door slammed between them._

"Wow," Wes said quietly, after a pause. "And you never saw him again before he showed up at Bio-Lab?"

"No."

"I can see why you were surprised."

Eric snorted. "Surprised is putting it mildly. I was shocked. That's why I sneaked off to talk to him at the reception that way. I wanted to find out what he was doing here."

"I bet you did."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. Didn't really know what to say."

"Hey, I understand."

"And you can see why I thought he might have sent that first note. But I believe him, that he had nothing to do with it. His wife..." Eric hesitated. "I hate to think she could have done it. He doesn't need the extra grief."

"You think she knows and sent the note to you as revenge? And the one Nick got as a cover-up? But how would she have found out?"

"Well... there was a letter. I had already given Nick the address where I was staying in New York for the two weeks before I came here, and he wrote to me. It was returned."

"You had left by then?"

"No..." Eric sighed, looking away. "No, I got it."

_He stood at the mailboxes, clutching the letter in his hand, staring at Nick's name on the return address. It had been almost two weeks. Eric had done his best to forget about that painful last argument, and tried unsuccessfully to push the entire relationship out of his mind along with it. He had thought about leaving, finding another hotel to stay in, half expecting Nick to show up at his door, not sure if he dreaded that possibility or wanted the chance to - to what? Make up? No - it was over, what would be the point? And now this... What could Nick have to say that would be worth reading? That he was sorry? That he wanted to get back together? More likely it would be anger and bitter accusations, and maybe they were justified... _

_Eric's hands moved, fingers fumbling, starting to open it - and then they stopped. He had no need to read descriptions of his own faults, or declarations of a love he would never return, or plans he would never share in, or anything else that he was likely to find inside. Better not to know. And better to send his own message. _

_There was a mailbox on the corner. He found a pen, scratched out his address on the envelope, and scrawled 'Return to Sender' across the paper. Then, before he could change his mind, he dropped it in._

"So," Wes said slowly, "Nick got the letter back?"

"Yeah. He said he put it away somewhere, and assumed it got lost when they moved. It's possible Lyn found it, I guess. But..." He met Wes's eyes again. "He doesn't believe it's her. I really don't want to find out he's wrong."

"Maybe someone else could have found it? Someone who stayed with them sometime? Or visited?"

"Anything's possible. Someone who also knows this secret about BioSynth, whatever it is."

"One of the BioSynth scientists," Wes said. "What we have to do is find out if any of them is particularly close to the Tates, and spent a lot of time at their place. Maybe find out who helped them move." He hesitated. "Maybe it would be better if I talk to Nick myself. Tomorrow's Saturday and he won't be working, but I could go by his house and see what I can find out. Talk to his wife, too."

Eric thought about it for a moment. While he wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, it struck him that Wes was trying to spare him the embarrassment of facing his ex-boyfriend at home with his wife. Or - he just didn't like the idea of Eric being around Nick so much. Either way... "Okay," he agreed reluctantly. "Meanwhile I can track down Dr. Manx and have a talk with her. I think your father was right, and she knows exactly what secret they're talking about."

"It's something. Maybe one of them will lead somewhere."

Eric crossed the room and sat on the couch next to Wes. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Nick in the first place. It's just - it's not something I'm proud of, the way I acted with him. I didn't mean to lie or anything."

"You didn't." Wes smiled and raised a hand to run his fingers over the side of Eric's jaw. "You did bend the truth a little... but I can see why."

"You have nothing to worry about, from him or anyone else."

"I wasn't worried. Well, not much."

"So we're okay?"

"Better than okay."

Eric reached up to take Wes's hand, turned it, and pressed a kiss into the palm. He leaned forward with only a momentary flash of memory of the days he had avoided kissing as too personal - their lips meeting, then tongues, arms around each other now, bodies pressing closer...

After a while he said, "We were supposed to have dinner out tonight, weren't we? Indian, some fancy restaurant your father likes..."

"We'll order pizza. Later."

"Much later."

- - -

TBC...


	6. Home

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Home

- - -

Wes waited for a few seconds after shutting off the engine before he got out of his car. The Tate house waited for him right across the street, looking like any other nice, normal suburban house. There were a few signs that the tenants had moved in recently: the lawn needed mowing and there was a stack of flattened cardboard boxes neatly waiting for garbage collection, but otherwise it seemed like any other nice, quiet home, with no outward hint of whatever secrets might lie hidden inside.

For a moment he allowed himself to be envious. This was what he wanted, someday - to live with Eric, settle down into family life - kids would be difficult or impossible, of course, but it would be more than enough if the two of them could be together openly... The thought came to him that if the note-writer made good on his threats, that could actually happen. They wouldn't have to hide anymore, or pretend to be anything but what they were, something Wes had wanted almost from the beginning.

But no. Too much of Eric's identity was tied up in appearances, and he had too many bitter memories of real or imagined hostility and intolerance when the truth was revealed. He would feel humiliated if they were forced to come out publicly this way, and would take out his anger on anyone and - probably - everyone. Maybe someday they would do it on their own, when they were ready. But not now, not like this.

No point in putting it off any longer. Wes climbed out of the car and crossed the street. He rang the bell and waited, hearing a woman's voice call out something, and a baby cry briefly. Then the door opened.

Nick stood there, giving him the same part cautious, part appraising, and part suspicious look that Wes suspected was on his own face, before he put out his hand. "Hi. Nice to see you again."

"Thanks for letting me come over on such short notice."

"Yeah..." He stepped outside, closing the door. "What exactly do you want to talk to me about?"

"Those notes, like I said on the phone." He watched as Nick hesitated, obviously uncomfortable, and then went on. "Yes, I know about the third note you and Eric got, and no, I'm not going to say anything about it to your wife."

"So Eric told you about me?"

"Yes." Wes forced himself past the remains of jealousy. "He told me you two were - involved - when you were in the Army."

"I thought so, after the way you took off when you saw us in his office yesterday." Nick faced him with a hint of defiance.

"Yeah, well. Anyway, he said you know about him and me, too. So you know I want it kept quiet, for Eric's sake, as much as you do."

"Look, about yesterday... there was nothing going on."

Wes smiled. "I know. He told me why you were there."

Nick still didn't look too happy. "If you're here now because you think my wife did it, you're wrong."

"Eric doesn't think that, and neither do I. But we have to keep an open mind."

"Fair enough, I guess. Lyn's inside with the baby. Come around back, and we can talk for a few minutes."

The back yard contained the remains of a small flower garden, another overgrown lawn, and several trees, surrounded by a low fence. An ancient outdoor table and chairs sat rusting in the shade of the house. Wes surveyed it all and smiled. "Nice," he commented.

"Needs a lot of work." Nick waved a hand. "I'm planning to put up a swing on one of those trees, and a basketball hoop on the wall. Be a nice place for the kid to play when he gets a little older."

"Sounds good."

"Lyn's looking into getting him into kindergarten. And this place is near enough to the elementary school that he can walk, when the time comes. Then she can look for a job; should be plenty of opportunities for her here. She's a legal assistant."

"How'd you two meet?"

"Through her brother. He's a chemist in our research group. You met him - Jake Walsh."

"Oh, right. Didn't know he's your brother-in-law."

"Yeah. I started at BioSynth right after I got out of the service, and Jake introduced me to Lyn. We pretty much hit it off right away, got married two years later." Nick's eyes softened, and he smiled. "Sounds kind of funny, but Lyn reminded me a little of Eric in some ways, at least at first. Not that she's really much like him, but she's strong, and very determined and focused, but without his... uh..."

Wes grinned. "His attitude? His temper? His emotional distance?"

"Well... I don't want to sound critical, especially to you."

"I'm perfectly aware of Eric's faults. He's not an easy person to get to know, but there are reasons for the way he is." Wes sighed, looking out over the yard again. "I don't know how much he told you about himself... his family was very poor. His father took off when he was a kid, and his mother abandoned him a few months later. He grew up in foster homes - and got kicked out of the last one when they found out he's gay."

"Man. I had no idea. He never said anything."

"He's also too proud to want anyone feeling sorry for him. Some people would call that another fault. I don't."

Nick looked at him, his expression both curious and thoughtful. "In a way I'm envious. Not that I still feel like that about him anymore, but... Seems like he's a lot different with you than he was with me. A lot more open."

"Wasn't always like that. It's strange; I'd almost forgotten how much he's changed since he came to Silver Hills and joined the Guardians. It took us a long time to get to this point." Wes smiled and shook his head. "You know, I was thinking I'm envious of you, being married and having a baby and all. Not going to happen for me and Eric, at least not anytime soon."

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty lucky." Nick cleared his throat. "But all that's not what you came here to talk about."

"No, it isn't." Wes poked a toe at a clump of weeds. "You know what the obvious question is. Who could know about you and Eric? Who's close to you? If that letter is the only way anyone could have found out, who might have found it?"

"So he told you about the letter too?" Nick frowned. "I put it away years ago and forgot all about it. I thought it got lost when I moved from Fort Dartmouth to work at BioSynth."

"Is there any other way anyone could have found out?"

"I don't see how..."

"So there you are!"

Startled, they both turned, and Wes saw a woman standing in the open back door of the house. She was blonde, attractive, on the tall side with strong features which were softened by a bright smile. In her arms was a baby who caught sight of him and stared, wide-eyed, as if at some strange and unearthly creature that had materialized in his new home.

"Hi! You must be Wes Collins," she said, advancing a few steps. "Nick said you were dropping by." She gave him an inquiring look.

"Yeah, sort of a 'welcome to the neighborhood' visit. You must be Lyn."

"Right, Lynda Tate, pleased to meet you." She extended a hand and shook his firmly. "And this is Schuyler. Say hi, Sky!"

"Hi... Nice to meet both of you." Wes grinned and held out his hands. "He's a cute kid. May I?" To his surprise, she hesitated. "Don't worry, I know how to hold a baby without dropping him," he added.

"Okay... but just for a minute, he's overdue for his nap." She handed him over, her eyes sharply watchful.

Overprotective, no doubt. Wes took Sky carefully, cradled him in one arm and wriggled the fingers of his other hand. The child watched them with a fascinated expression, probably attracted by the gleaming gold of his school ring. Either that or he was amazed by how silly grownups got about babies.

"I'd better take him back before he covers you with drool or other bodily fluids," Lyn said. A little reluctantly, Wes complied. Baby in her arms again, she smiled. "I don't know why you guys are standing out here in the sun. Come on in!"

- - -

He watched her through the window in the Bio-Lab laboratory door for a few minutes before stepping silently inside, seeing only the back of her white coat bent over whatever instrument she was using. Dr. Katherine Manx looked very small and alone, working in that room all by herself. Ironic that after going to her apartment, he had found her here. Maybe she was one of those people who preferred to be at work, who thought of home as just a place to sleep and keep their possessions.

Eric knew that kind of person; he had been one most of his adult life. Until the last few years he had never had a real home, no family, and no desire for either. Not like Nick... For a moment he found himself wondering what Wes was seeing right now at the Tate house. What it was like for Nick, whether he was happy with his wife and son and their family life in the suburbs. On the surface, perhaps it wasn't much different from Eric's own house... but it certainly had been chosen for very different reasons...

"_It's a lovely place, isn't? Lots of trees, a big yard, nice neighbors." _

"_Yeah, lovely," Eric muttered semi-sarcastically. _

_The rental agent appeared not to notice. Or maybe she did; her voice became a shade more enthusiastic, if possible. "The house has two bedrooms, so you could use one as a guest room. Plenty of closet space for two, or more." _

"_I'm not married." _

"_Yes, but you never know, especially after the girls here in Silver Hills get a look at you!" She laughed cheerfully, the sound trailing off as he only stared at her. "Not far from the school, too, just in case," she continued. _

"_A school. Great." _

_Again, the sarcasm was lost on her as she led him inside. Eric gave up and just nodded as this small, modest house was described in glowing terms worthy of a mansion. Despite her exaggerations, there was nothing really wrong with it; it was reasonably clean, in good repair, and most importantly, cheap. _

_For just a moment he wondered what Nick would have said, whether he would have liked the place or wanted something nicer, what it would have been like to look it over together, to be making these decisions with someone else, instead of by himself and for himself; what it would be like to share his life with someone. Impatiently he shook the thought away. That would never happen, not with Nick or anyone else._

He had ended up taking the house, not for the school and not for the neighbors, but for the privacy offered by a yard filled with trees and surrounded by a high fence. He had fully intended to take advantage of the possibilities now that he was on his own, without the Army and without Nick. No more dark alleys, no more hotel rooms; most of all no more vague feelings of guilt every time he picked someone up in a bar.

But somehow, that wasn't the way it had turned out. At first he had told himself he didn't have time, and that was partly true. His new job with the Guardians was demanding, even before the first time they went into action publicly. Then he decided it was because he couldn't take the risk of his new employer or co-workers finding out about his private life. But - especially after that sunny morning when he had seen Wes again for the first time in more than eight years - in the end he had to admit it was because he had changed, because he found himself wanting more than quick encounters with nameless partners.

"I heard you come in. Might as well speak up." Kat Manx's voice startled him out of his thoughts. She hadn't even looked around.

"Sorry to bother you, ma'am."

"Is there a problem?"

"No. If you have a minute or two, I'd like to talk to you."

Her face turned to him, eyes shielded behind safety glasses. "Commander Myers. Do you usually work on Saturdays?"

"My job has odd hours. Apparently yours does too. Or is this overtime?"

"This is..." She sighed, wiping a latex-gloved hand over her forehead. "This is too much work and too little time."

"That's too bad. I'm sure if you speak to Mr. Collins, he'd consider paying some staff to come in and assist you."

"Actually, you could help me yourself."

"Ma'am?"

"Let me study that morpher." She was looking at his wrist.

Almost unconsciously, Eric covered it with his other hand. "Sorry, but anything like that would have be authorized by Mr. Collins, and that's not likely. The morpher stays with me, and I don't have time."

"And your partner? Does he not have time either?"

"Probably not."

Dr. Manx pulled off the glasses and fixed him with those uncannily bright green eyes. "What do you want to talk about?"

She seemed like the direct type. So was he. Eric told her. "I want to know what the secret of BioSynth is. If I'm going to be responsible for protecting this company, and protecting you and your people, I have to know."

There was a moment of silence and one blink in reaction. "I told your boss there's nothing I can tell you about that."

"And as my boss said, that doesn't mean there's nothing to tell. Ma'am."

"Perceptive man." With a graceful motion and a few steps she was on her feet and standing close, facing him, her expression watchful yet calm. "There is something else I can tell you. I think you may find it even more interesting."

"What's that?"

"I know who's been sending those notes."

He just stared at her for an astonished second. "You know? How?"

"I'll explain on two conditions. First, hear me out before you do anything drastic."

Eric raised a brow. "Okay. And the second condition?"

To his surprise, she grinned. "Stop calling me ma'am."

- - -

Inside the Tate house the recent move was much more evident. A sofa, chairs, television, and stereo were in place, but stacks of boxes, some sealed, some opened, some partially emptied, filled the corners of the living room. "Pardon the mess," Nick said as they looked around. "Have a seat, if you can find a clear spot."

"No problem." Wes perched on an arm of the sofa and looked up at Lyn. "I was just asking your husband how your move went. They seem to have done a good job."

"Yes, they did. Right on time and everything."

"If Bio-Lab made the arrangements, I'm not surprised. I hope nothing got lost or damaged?"

"No, at least nothing I've seen so far. Things are still kind of disorganized, as you can see."

"Yeah, it's a big job. Did you guys do your own packing?"

Lyn raised an eyebrow at the question, but she answered. "Yes, we did. I didn't like the idea of the movers doing it."

"And you didn't want them to unpack either, I guess."

"Well, no... The three of us have been getting it done, bit by bit."

"The three of you?" Wes grinned. "I'm sure Sky's a big help."

She laughed. "No, my brother Jake moved in with us until he gets his own place. It's good for us, too, having another pair of hands while we're getting settled." Just as Wes was considering the possible implications of that, they heard the sound of a key turning in the front door lock. "Speak of the devil," she said, "That must be him now."

Wes watched as the door opened, and a man whom he vaguely remembered meeting at the reception and seeing later in Dr. Manx's lab appeared. Jake Walsh was only a little taller than his sister, with darker hair, his expression seeming distracted as he took a step into the room. He nodded at Nick and gave Lyn and Sky an absent-minded smile. Then as he turned to close the door, he caught sight of Wes. And froze. An unmistakable flash of alarm, maybe even fear, ran across his face.

"Take it easy, Jake," Lyn said, sounding both amused and a little surprised. "He's not a burglar."

"Yeah... Wes Collins, right?" Jake stepped forward to shake hands, smiling now but his eyes still cautious and suspicious. "To what do we owe the honor?"

"Just a social call." He glanced around at the boxes, and then caught Nick's eye for a moment. "So you're staying here? Helping Nick and your sister get settled in and unpacked, are you?"

"Uh, yeah. Yes, I am."

"Glad to hear it."

There were a few seconds of silence, vibrating with an undercurrent of tension. Lyn seemed to sense it as she glanced at the three men and then said, "Well, it's getting close to lunchtime. Will you join us, Wes?"

He glanced at his watch. "Thanks, but no, I should be leaving. Got a few things to do."

"Not working on Saturday like Dr. Manx, I hope?"

"No. But if she's there I may swing by Bio-Lab and see her."

Again, his eyes met Nick's as he turned in the doorway for a last goodbye. The other man glanced at his brother-in-law, a slight frown on his face, then at his wife and child, and then back at Wes. He was smiling again as the door closed, but his fists were clenched tightly.

- - -

"It's Jake Walsh." Kat's voice was followed by a brief silence in her office, where they had gone to talk.

Eric scowled and asked, "How do you know? Do you have proof?"

She clasped her hands on her desk. "I did a DNA analysis on the two notes I got. Jake came in contact with both. He was clever enough not to lick the stamps or envelopes, but I found his skin cells and sweat on both. He handled them, and beside mine, his are the only cells on them."

Eric frowned. "I didn't think you could find enough DNA just from a few skin cells..."

"My methods are a little more sensitive than what most police labs have today, although they're getting there. Unfortunately, for that reason, I don't think my results would be considered legal evidence."

"So - assuming I even believe these 'methods' of yours really work - basically all I have is your word that it's Walsh, not any real proof."

"I suppose that's true. However, he's a logical suspect in other ways. He's been involved in my research. He's... upset about a result of that research."

"You should be a cop. But that brings us back to my original question. What's the secret? What result of your research is he upset about?"

"That's something I'd like to know, too." The voice came from the doorway. They both turned to see Wes there, arms crossed, face somber. "I think it's Jake Walsh, too," he continued. "He's staying with the Tates, and would have had the opportunity to find - things he shouldn't have seen." He and Eric exchanged a brief and meaningful glance. "And when he walked in and saw me in their house, for a second there I thought he was going to run. A definitely guilty reaction."

"You heard Dr. Manx say she found a DNA match?" Eric asked.

"Yes. But as she also said, it's not legal proof."

"I'd prefer if you don't get the authorities involved anyway," Kat said.

"Why? What are you hiding?" Eric asked. "And why should we protect you and your secret, whatever it is?"

She took a deep breath, searching first his face, and then Wes's. "Some truths are better hidden," she said. "The ones that may not be understood. The ones that may hurt innocent people." For a moment Eric thought of his own secrets, and Wes's. She looked at both of them again, obviously anxious. "Can I trust the two of you?"

"Depends on what you tell us," Wes said after a moment's hesitation. Eric nodded in agreement.

"An honest answer. All right. I would have had to do this sooner or later." Kat looked down, seeming to collect her thoughts. Then she faced them again. "I'll tell you what happened at BioSynth. I'll tell you the secret we've all been hiding."

- - -

TBC...


	7. Revelation

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.  
Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

Rated T: Be warned, there is some strong language and talk about sex.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

**The Secret of BioSynth**

* * *

Revelation

- - -

Nick sat on the bed, head bowed, and stared at what he held in his hand. The letter. It was quiet, almost hushed, inside Jake's small bedroom. The calm before the storm he knew was about to start, when he confronted his brother-in-law. From outside the door he could hear voices. A laugh, trailing away. Footsteps approached. He drew in a deep breath.

Jake's reaction of guilt when he had seen Wes there had opened Nick's eyes. Suddenly it was obvious. Who else knew about the accident, and thought the project should be stopped, and had the opportunity to have found his letter? Who else but Jake? So Nick had slipped away during preparations for lunch, and come here. Fortunately Jake hadn't brought many possessions with him, and it had only taken a few minutes to find it, hidden underneath a drawer in the night table.

He looked up as the door opened, and as Jake froze, guilt again written clearly across his face. "It's you, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

"I - I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't even try. You were always a lousy liar." Nick held up the letter. "You found this, and tried to use it to - to blackmail me."

Jake closed the door behind him and leaned against it. "I was just trying to do the right thing. Make Kat stop the research before anyone else gets hurt."

"So you threaten my marriage to do it? Your sister's marriage?"

"It's all just a fake, anyway, isn't it?" Jake said in a furious whisper. "You have no right to complain! If you had told Lyn the truth years ago," he waved at the letter, "and given her the chance to decide whether she wanted to be with a - a person like you - well, there wouldn't be anything to threaten you with!"

"I thought you were my friend!"

"I thought so too! But you lied to me, and to my sister! Hiding what you really are!"

"And what's that exactly? When you meet a woman, do you tell her about all your former relationships? Why should it be different for me?"

"Because you're gay, dammit!"

"I'm bisexual. I love Lyn; I'm not just pretending with her, if that's what you think."

"You still had sex with men! At least with that one! Maybe you've started up again with him, now that you're conveniently working in the same place-"

Nick was up and grabbing his shirt to pull him roughly face to face. With an effort he controlled himself, and kept his voice low. "Let's get this straight. Whatever I am, whoever I've been with in the past; I love Lyn and I love Sky, and I'm going to do my best to make sure they never get hurt, not by me - and not by you." He let go. "I'm bisexual, yes. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me, and it doesn't mean I can't be as faithful to your sister as anyone else."

"Okay," Jake said after a moment as Nick turned away. "Okay, maybe you're right about that part of it. But what about the rest? What about the accident?"

- - -

"There was an accident," Kat said. "It happened in 2001, soon after we started the project."

"What kind of accident?" Wes prompted her when she paused.

"We were working on morpher technology. Trying to build new ones with the abilities that yours have, and improve on them. Trying to use the various kinds of morphers that have been made in the past - specifically Lightspeed and yours, the others seemed impossible to duplicate - as a base, and come up with something even better. Something that would be more than a suit, that would bond with the wearer's body at a cellular level to protect and strengthen them." She sighed. "Maybe I pushed too hard. We got careless. It was my fault, and I take full responsibility."

"Just tell us what happened," Eric said impatiently.

"We were experimenting with cellular enhancement agents, powerful ones. There was a leak in one of the sealed containers. I don't know exactly how long it lasted, but my team and I were exposed over a period of several weeks, at least. And then - during a chemical procedure most of the team was working on, it broke. Nothing spectacular, it looked like a flash of light as the compound vaporized, but it exposed us to radiation as well.

"There seemed to be no harm done. At first. We repaired our equipment, set up a monitoring system to make sure it didn't happen again. Everyone seemed to be fine. As time passed we forgot all about it, went on with our work, and with our lives. Some of us married, and started families. Everything was normal - until two months ago, when we realized there was something - different - about Nick Tate's son."

- - -

"Can't you see the research has to be stopped?" Jake was saying. "What if it happens again? What if something worse happens next time?"

"Kat's made sure it won't." Nick tried to quiet his anger, and make his voice calm and confidant. "Look, it was an accident. Sometimes they happen. Things could have been a lot worse. Now we know what the risks are, and we can prevent anything-"

"Risks? It's already happened! We've been exposed to radiation and cellular modifiers! What if Kat's wrong and we get sick because of it? What if we change, and get like Sky? What's going to happen to the Carsons' kid? We don't even know! How can you just accept what happened like that, when it's your _son_ who's affected! Your kid who's a freak because of it!"

"Don't call Sky a freak!" Nick had raised his voice, and no longer cared. He glared at Jake. "He's a perfectly normal, healthy baby!"

"_Normal?_" Jake was shouting now, out of control, his face enraged. "The damn kid can - can project some kind of force field! I've seen it! I've felt it!"

"That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with him!"

"Face it, he's a freak, a monster, and he'll never be normal or healthy!"

"Damn you..."

But Nick's exclamation was cut off by the sound of the door being thrown open. Lyn stood there. One look at her face told him she must have heard the last few shouts through the door, and her words proved it. "What the hell did you say about my child?" she hissed, glaring at her brother. "Say that again, to my face!"

"I..." Jake backed away from her. "I'm sorry, but it's true, you know it's true..."

"My son is _not_ a freak. So what if he can do things other people can't? He's still my baby! He's still your nephew!"

"Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I remember that every time I wonder if I'll ever have children?" Jake's face crumpled, before he covered it with his hands. "What if I have a kid someday, and it turns out like that - not normal, not - not human, not _right_, with some kind of weird powers; I don't know, I couldn't handle it, I couldn't..."

"Jacob Samuel Walsh!" Lyn's strong voice silenced him. "Are you telling me you can't accept a person being different? You wouldn't even be able to love your own child if he wasn't your definition of normal?"

"I don't know... I'm sorry, but I _can't_..."

Her face was determined and her tone was firm as she said, "If you can't look at Sky and love him just the same as any other child - you're no longer my brother." After a moment, she turned and walked out.

- - -

"I tested all of my team, and found changes in their DNA," Kat went on, her face somber. "Nothing harmful. Nothing that will make them get cancer or any other disease. No, the effects - the mutation - is passed on, and comes out in their children. In Sky's case at least, in the form of an extra ability."

"What can he do?" Wes asked.

"As far as I can tell, he can project force fields and use them as a barrier. It's very intermittent, but he seems to be able to control it. As he gets older, it'll be fascinating to see how the power develops. No indication of any harmful effects so far, but..." She sighed. "After we found out about Sky, I ran tests on Paul Carson's son, Bridge. They showed the same kind of genetic changes. In his case there are no really obvious effects, but he shows abnormal brain patterns and some strange reactions to being touched. In a way it's worse than Sky, since his mind may be affected but we don't know how yet.

"I have no idea what might happen with the other children, the children of the other team members. As more are born and grow up, they could turn out like Sky, with some sort of power, but they could also have genetic defects and develop diseases. It's also possible they could have some sort of ability that becomes dangerous and destructive."

"Or they could be completely normal."

Kat shook her head. "Doubtful. The DNA changes are too extensive. It's almost certain that some obvious mutation will show up sooner or later in all of those children. All we can do is hope that they're not harmful."

"Wow. That must be hard on your team."

"It is." She crossed her arms, frowning at the floor. "Some couldn't take it. David Landors and his wife had been trying for a baby. Maria Delgado had been thinking about it too. They're both gone. Another woman, Callie Drew, discovered she's pregnant last week, and she's leaving. Nick and Paul have stayed, despite the situation with their children, but obviously Jake isn't handling it as well as I hoped."

"I see." Wes exchanged a glance with his partner.

"And you expect us to keep all this a secret?" Eric asked. "Why? Why not come out in the open?"

"Several reasons. You should be able to guess some of them." Kat met their eyes. "If this gets out, there may be an investigation. It was an accident, that's true, but with children involved there could be a strong public reaction. You know what the media is like. My research could be stopped or delayed. There could be bad publicity for Bio-Lab. And... on a more personal level, think of the effects on those kids and their parents."

- - -

"Have you stopped to think about what you're doing?" Nick demanded, staring down at Jake, who was now sitting with slumped shoulders on his bed. "If you expose Kat and her project, you're also exposing us. Lyn and me, and Sky. If other people start thinking of him the same way you do - as a freak - what's that going to do to us? To him, when he's old enough to understand? How's he going to have a normal life?"

"He'll never have a normal life. That's my point."

"And letting the whole world know he has this ability is going to help how, exactly? No, this is all about you, isn't it? _You_ don't want kids who are different. _You're_ scared. _You're_ angry. Well, don't take it out on us!" He stopped for a breath. "Has it occurred to you that there'd be dozens of doctors and scientists testing Sky? Poking and prodding at him, if they don't just take him away from us? Or that all of us would be examined and studied, too? After all, all of our DNA was changed. We're all mutants now, including you; you're just as much of a _freak_ as Sky, even if it doesn't show!"

"Shut up!" Jake glared at him before dropping his head again.

"The truth is you can't tell anyone, can you?"

"No... I just wanted it to stop!" Jake seemed on the verge of tears. "I just wanted Kat to pay for doing this to us. I just wanted to do - something!"

"You're pathetic. You know that."

"Pathetic... I suppose I am." Suddenly Jake was on his feet, pushing past and yanking the door open.

"Where are you going?" Nick called after him.

"What do you care?" He didn't even slow down.

Nick followed, and saw him run through the living room and out the front door. He stopped, wondering whether to go after him. There was no sign of Lyn, she was probably with the baby, trying to comfort him - and herself - after all the angry shouting.

The sound of a car engine came to his ears, rumbled by and quickly faded. Jake had taken off. It would be easiest to let him go, and hope he never came back. But - what did he intend to do? A whole history of past incidents jumbled through Nick's mind... Little things, mostly, but Jake had always tended to overreact, to go too far... Had he always been unstable? In his frame of mind, what might he be capable of? On impulse, Nick hunted for his car keys, and then ran out.

- - -

"Well..." Eric frowned at Kat. "I see your point about the kids. Wouldn't do Sky or his parents any good to have everyone know about him. But maybe your research should be stopped. Make sure there aren't any more accidents."

"He's right," Wes said. "You can shut down and take another look at your safety procedures. You can always start again in a year or so."

"No." She shook her head. "The project must continue. We can't afford to lose a year, or even a few months."

"Why?" Wes asked, with a glance at Eric. "What's so important?"

Kat looked up at them, again hesitating. "You may not believe me..." she said.

"We're kind of experts at unbelievable things," Wes said. "Whatever it is, we'll hear you out."

What she said next seemed unrelated. "You've met Andros. The Space red Ranger. You've been in space yourselves."

Wes exchanged another puzzled look with Eric. "I don't know how you knew about that-"

"We've been watching Earth. For quite some time. We've studied you Rangers. Your morphers. Realized the potential in them, for protection, and defense." Her green eyes were shuttered as she looked down. "And for war."

"Who's 'we'? And what war? Against who?"

Kat took a deep breath, and continued in a steady voice. "His name is Gruumm. He calls himself an emperor. In fact, he's a warlord. A conqueror. His army has spread destruction over dozens of planets so far, and nothing seems able to stop him. Certainly we haven't. He'll just keep going..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eric demanded.

"Gruumm already attacked my planet. We who survived were forced to flee, and scatter across the allied systems." She looked up again and went on very quietly. "I'm an alien. The 'from another planet' kind of an alien."

Eric snorted. "And you expect us to--"

He trailed off into shocked silence. Wes stared as Kat raised a hand to the locket she wore on a chain around her neck, and pressed what was obviously a control of some kind. Her image wavered and blurred for just a moment. When it solidified again, she was - different.

"Holy shit," Eric said softly.

Strangely, the first thought in Wes's mind was that Kat Manx had been a dead giveaway as a name. The woman who looked back at them now had large, lightly furred, pointed ears, the tips poking through her hair. The pupils of her green eyes were no longer round and human, they were as slitted as a cat's. A scattering of dark spots decorated the sides of her face. And her teeth - she smiled, just enough for them to see the fangs.

- - -

"Damn it..." Nick muttered a few more curses as another traffic light stopped him. He decided he'd make a lousy detective; he had stayed so far back behind Jake's car to avoid being spotted that he had lost him. But maybe that didn't really matter. It was already obvious where his brother-in-law was headed.

Five minutes later he was parking in the almost-empty Bio-Lab lot. Jake had left his car here, but there was no sign of him. He must have gone inside. Whatever he was planning to do - he had to be stopped. Quickly Nick headed for the laboratories.

- - -

"So, let me get this straight." Eric still sounded skeptical, despite the visual evidence of an alien standing in front of them. "This Gruumm character is a big shot in something called the Troobian Empire. They've already attacked and conquered a bunch of inhabited planets, including yours. Right now they're going after Sirius, the place where this Space Patrol Delta outfit you work for has its headquarters. And you think they're on their way here?"

"Gruumm and his forces are moving in this direction. Yes," Kat said quietly. "According to our information they will focus on Earth in the near future."

"Why Earth? What would they want here?" Wes asked.

She shook her head. "We don't know yet, not for sure. However, we believe Earth is both in a convenient location for him and contains resources he needs. That he hopes to establish a base here, from which he can control this part of the galaxy."

"When? How long do we have?"

"Maybe fifteen years. Maybe twenty. SPD is doing its best to hold them back."

"And that's why you're here? To stop them?"

"Yes." She nodded at their morphers. "That's why my project is so important. If we can build improved versions of your weaponry, we may have a better chance to make a stand here, on Earth."

"But..." Eric was frowning. "What difference are morphers going to make against a - a whole space army?"

"If I can develop the technology, I can base larger, more powerful weapons on it. We've already seen how effective Rangers can be against even very large forces. And that's only part of it - we need to prepare Earth to cooperate with the rest of the civilized worlds in this area of the universe, to accept aliens openly, and work with us." She met their eyes. "I could use your help. Let me study your morphers."

"I..." Wes hesitated. "I don't know if we can."

"Because they're from the future?" Kat went on as he blinked in surprise. "While we don't have time travel - yet - we can detect it. Which we did, in 2001, here in Silver Hills."

"Then you know it might be dangerous to use technology from the future."

"Maybe. But I know for a fact it'll be dangerous not to. If we can't stop him, Gruumm will conquer Earth, as he did to my planet, and destroy it. Isn't it worth the risk to prevent that? In fact, how do you know those morphers weren't left in this time just for this purpose?"

"I dunno," Eric said. "This is a lot to-"

"What was that?" Kat said, interrupting him.

"What was what?"

"I heard something." Disconcertingly, her ears moved, swiveling towards the door even as she reached for the hidden control in her locket again. "The lab!"

- - -

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"Huh? Uh... no." Nick realized he must have reacted at seeing Jake's name on the weekend sign-in sheet. For a moment he considered asking the guard to go with him - but he had no proof that Jake was up to anything wrong. No, he'd find him, and calm him down, and get him out of there... Then figure out what to do about him...

He kept to a quick walk until he was out of sight of the guard post, and then broke into a trot. The lab was the logical place to look. A moment later he realized he was right; heart jumping as he hurried down the last stretch of hallway, and heard the sizzle and crack of a small explosion from behind the entry doors.

There he was - Jake had taken one of their projects, a high-energy hand-held blaster, from the workbench where the team had left it. He had already used it; in the center of the room the testing chamber containing their first prototype morpher was heavily damaged, one side blown away, the morpher itself visible and unprotected. As Nick pushed through the doors and started across the room, Jake raised the weapon again.

"Jake! What the hell are you doing?" he shouted.

"Don't come any closer!" The blaster moved to point at him. Nick stopped abruptly. "I'm doing what we all should have done years ago. Stopping this project."

"Don't do it." Nick's eyes moved nervously to the chamber as a spark crackled inside it. "You know how much energy is stored in that morpher. Blow it up and the explosion could destroy this whole room."

"I know." Jake's eyes moved to him. "I don't want to hurt you, Nick. Get out. Now."

"And let you kill yourself, and destroy everything all of us have been working for all these years?"

"That's the idea."

"You're not thinking clearly... Please, put the blaster down, and we'll find Kat and talk about this." Nick edged a little closer.

"No! Sky will never be normal... Lyn hates me... I'm going to stop all of this now!"

"Put down the weapon! Now!" Nick jumped and turned at the sound of Eric's voice. Just inside the laboratory doors were Eric and Wes, with Kat right behind them. As he stared at them, the two Silver Guardians raised their arms.

"Quantum Power!"

"Time for Time Force!"

In a wave of light, they both transformed into the red-suited Rangers he had until then only seen on television. Inanely, he found himself wishing he had time to be impressed. Instead, he turned back to his brother-in-law.

"Don't try to stop me!" Jake was yelling. He held the blaster higher, against his chest. "This is still in development! Hit it with an energy beam and it's likely to explode, and take all of us with it!"

"He's right." Kat's voice was grim but calm. "Both the morpher and the blast weapon are still unstable. You can't take the chance of shooting at it."

"Our suits should protect us," Wes said. "You two get to safety. We'll take care of this."

"No!" Nick said. "I'm not going to let you do this, Jake." He took a step forward.

"Get out! Get out while you still can!" Jake aimed for the morpher, his eyes wild.

"No! We all put our lives into this work. We all sacrificed, and we'll go on sacrificing, not just us, but our families. Our children. Yes, Sky is the way he is because of this. If it's all destroyed - all of it will have been for nothing! I'm not going to let you make what happened to him, to all of us, useless and meaningless!" Nick took a breath and another step. "Put down the blaster, Jake."

"No! Just go!"

"Nick..." It was Eric's voice from behind him. "Please, do what he says before you get hurt. Let us handle this."

Nick ignored him. "What about Lyn, Jake? What's it going to do to her if you kill yourself and the last words you spoke to each other were in anger?"

"Just get out and let me do this!"

"No. You'll have to kill me. Leave your sister a widow and your nephew an orphan. Is that what you want?"

There was no answer, just the sound of Jake's ragged breathing. Resolutely, Nick walked forward, his heart thumping painfully hard. He reached his old friend and brother-in-law, and simply put out his hands. For a moment he was sure it would all be over in a flash of light and a fiery burst of energy, no time to think, no time for fear... But then Jake seemed to crumple, his head bowing and body slumping. Without a word, he dropped the blaster into Nick's waiting hands.

- - -

TBC...


	8. Steps

Wes, Eric, Kat, and all other characters from Power Rangers belong to Disney/Saban.

I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.

Nick Tate, while technically canon, is mine in the form he appears in here.

This story is slash, meaning sexual and romantic relationships between men. If that's not something you're okay with, don't read it.

-Sigh- It's always a little sad to end a story, and this is no exception. Thanks as always to everyone for reading and reviewing, and a very big thanks to my wonderful beta, MzDany. (Check out her Cam/Hunter stories.) Some of the flashbacks in this chapter are from the series, some are from my fic _Red Fire_.

**The Secret of BioSynth **

* * *

Steps

"Ready for this?" Wes asked as they paused outside the doors to the same suite where they had welcomed the former BioSynth scientists to Bio-Lab so many weeks ago. Out here in the hallway they had a moment alone, but from inside they could hear a buzz of voices; the gathering was in progress already.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Eric looked somber, but he smiled faintly.

"You're sorry to see Nick go, aren't you?"

"No. Well, maybe a little. But only a little."

"Hey, it's okay." Wes reached up to unnecessarily straighten Eric's collar. "You're allowed to like the guy. Hell, I kinda like him myself. Not like _that_..." He grinned at the expression on Eric's face. "He's a nice guy. I can see why you fell for him."

"I _didn't_ fall for him."

"Well, maybe you should have," Wes said teasingly.

To his surprise, Eric answered seriously. "Maybe I should. But I wasn't ready then, not even close." He frowned slightly. "Good thing you didn't know me back then. You would have thought I was the biggest shithead in the world."

Wes leaned in to kiss him quickly, just a brush of their lips across each other. "Who says I don't think so now?" he murmured softly, and returned Eric's grin. "Come on, let's join the party."

Inside, a few small groups of people stood talking. Wes caught sight of Nick on the other side of the room, in conversation with a man whose name he remembered as Paul Carson, and then led the way to Kat Manx and Michael Zaskin, who looked a little more subdued than usual.

"Hey, Mike. How's it going?" he asked.

"Great. Got all my projects here tied up, except for a few loose ends. And at home we're almost finished packing."

"Yeah. We're going to miss you around here."

"It's hard to leave, both Bio-Lab and Silver Hills. But our new setup looks really good, and I've always been interested in this particular project." He smiled at Eric. "Ever since I got to do those tests on your morpher, I've wanted to try building one."

"You'll get your chance now."

A lot had happened in the three months since Jake Walsh's attempt to destroy Kat's work. It had been a time filled with planning, discussion, endless meetings. Wes and Eric had checked out Kat's story with Andros, and then the three of them had told Wes's father everything, and after he had been convinced of the importance and urgency of the situation he had swung into action in his usual style. Now they were seeing the results.

Kat's project had officially been shut down. She, along with Nick and the remaining members of her BioSynth team were being relocated again, to a place called Newtech City. Dr. Zaskin was being sent to work with them. They would be the core of a new subsidiary of Bio-Lab, officially manufacturing equipment for law enforcement agencies, in reality continuing her work on morpher-based technology for the larger battle to come.

Wes turned his attention to Kat. Seeing her like this, in her human disguise, he could almost forget what she really looked like - except when she smiled and he remembered those teeth. "So," he asked, "Did you and Dad come up with a name yet for your new group?"

"Yes." Her lips quirked just slightly. "Special Police Division."

"SPD. Catchy."

"Thanks. We may change it to - something else. When the time is right."

"Speaking of your dad, I don't see him," Eric said, scanning the room.

"He had something to take care of. Said he'd join us soon."

"Yeah... Excuse me."

He watched Eric go, trying not to feel a twinge as he headed for Nick, who was alone now. The two began to talk quietly, drifting into a corner away from the others. Distracted, Wes thought he must have heard what Kat said next wrong.

"Your father's made all of this happen in only three months. He's quite a man," she murmured. "Very decisive, and very good at getting things done. If he were seventy or eighty years older..."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." She smiled, her expression secretive and - for a moment - very cat-like.

- - -

"Well, here we are." Alan Collins leaned forward in his seat in the back of the Bio-Lab limousine. "Philips, pull over, please, and roll up the partition." As the thick plastic shield rose behind the driver's seat, giving them some privacy, he turned to face Jake Walsh. The other man was staring out the window stonily, exactly the same way he had stared throughout this ride to the Silver Hills airport.

"I don't think we'll meet again, Mr. Walsh, or at least I hope not," he said. "So I'll wish you good luck in your new position."

"I guess you expect me to thank you for getting me this job." Jake turned to look at him. "Just coincidence that it gets me out of town."

Alan sighed. "No, I don't expect you to thank me. Here." He took out a sealed envelope from his jacket pocket.

"What's that?"

"Severance pay. You'll find it's more than generous. Enough to help you start over."

Jake sneered. "You mean a payoff to keep my mouth shut."

"I wouldn't want you to do anything foolish through lack of money. It's also enough for you to continue treatment with a good psychiatrist."

"Don't bother. Bad enough you people made me go to a shrink for the last three months."

"We can't force you, but attempted suicide shouldn't be taken lightly." He watched Jake shrug, and again look out the window. "We were good enough to overlook your destruction of our property, and to try to help you. We expect you not to make more trouble for us."

"Yeah, you were 'good' to me because you don't want the cops poking around." Jake shrugged again. "Anyway, what could I do to you now? You've shut down Kat's project, or that's what you said to the public. Nobody else is talking. I can't prove anything."

"No, you can't."

"Yeah. Well, goodbye." He reached for the door handle.

"One more thing," Alan said mildly. He waited for Jake to look at him. "I understand you made threats of a more personal nature against two of my most valuable employees, one of whom is also a family friend." He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "I don't like that. If you do anything in the future to harm those men or anyone else in my company or my family... Well, I may not have a morpher, but you'll find I have my own kind of power." A moment later he was smiling again. "Have a nice trip."

- - -

"Nick."

"Eric."

They eyed each other awkwardly, saying nothing more for a few moments. Eric almost smiled, thinking how strange it is that two people could have been close enough to share their bodies for a year, and yet now find themselves with nothing to say to each other. Or maybe it was that they had too much to say, and neither knew where to start.

"So - how are you doing? Almost set to go?" he asked finally.

"Yeah." Nick smiled faintly. "We never finished unpacking, so it wasn't a lot of work. And the Bio-Lab people took care of our house and found us a new one in Newtech City."

Eric nodded. "I ran into your wife the other day, when she came to have lunch with you."

"I know, she mentioned it." Nick lowered his voice a little. "I finally told her about myself. Jake was right about one thing; I should have done it years ago."

"How'd she take it?"

"Not bad." Nick sighed. "She got really mad that I didn't tell her before we got married. Then she apologized for getting mad... I can tell it shook her up. But we're working it out. We'll be fine."

"Good. I saw your kid too. He's okay, for a rug-rat."

"Thanks." Nick smiled again. "Lyn and Sky and a house in the suburbs... I finally got that white picket fence, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I guess you did."

"You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"When we were together... I was always trying to change you. And I'm sorry for that. It's not easy, being expected to live up to someone else's ideas, when they should just accept you for what you are."

"Maybe, but you had a right to expect _something_. I know I treated you like shit, and I'm sorry." Eric glanced across the room to where Wes was still talking with Kat and Mike Zaskin. Their eyes met for a moment, and Wes smiled. "And if it means anything - you did change me. Maybe it didn't show then, but you did."

It was true; Nick had started a change in him, one that hadn't really shown itself for months, not until after Wes had re-entered his life. It hadn't happened all at once; it had been one step at a time, starting with that first moment he and Wes had met again just after the Silver Guardians had gone into action for the first time. With the first glance he had known he still felt the old attraction... But things hadn't gone the way he would have liked...

_"Long time no see, Wes." _

_But his former schoolmate only stared blankly. Wes hadn't even recognized him, Eric realized. He took off his sunglasses, and saw the other man's eyes widen in surprise and what looked like dismay. Disappointed, hurt, and angry, Eric clasped his hands behind his back when Wes smiled and greeted him, any hopes of renewing their old friendship forgotten._

After Eric had found and taken the Quantum morpher and become a Ranger, their relationship had turned into a bitter rivalry and their conflicts had even come to blows. He had thought they hated each other then, because of the morpher, because of their differences, on Eric's part at least because of their history. And yet, it hadn't been quite that simple. As weeks turned into months and they grew used to fighting on the same side, however grudgingly on Eric's part, the hostility faded into an uneasy truce. And something else began to emerge, slowly...

_"Eric, we really need to start working together!" _

_He stared at the five Rangers as Wes called out to him. All they really wanted was to have the Quantum Ranger and the Q-Rex on their side, of course, especially after they had seen him take down Conwing single-handed. That was all... And yet, when he had fallen from that bridge he had heard Wes cry out in alarm and concern... and Jen had left her teammates in the middle of a fight to save him... And what about all the other times, the times Wes had helped him, or thanked him, or asked if he was okay, or just tried to be friendly in spite of Eric's rudeness and hostility... _

_"Will you at least think about it?" he heard, as he turned his back and walked away. No. No teaming up, no admitting they had gotten to him, just a little. _

_An hour later, as he stood in his backyard watching his neighbor's kid play with his pet birds, a movement caught his eye: a motorcycle, pulling away from the fence and into the street. Wes's motorcycle. Spying? Or - making sure he was all right? _

_Maybe it wouldn't hurt just to think about it._

Then had come the time when Wes briefly took over Bio-Lab. Remembering all the reasons he had given his former friend to dislike and distrust him, convinced he would soon be fired, Eric had quit his job and started to leave town. He had changed his mind, of course, and decided to stay and fight, and found that things worked out considerably differently from what he had expected, when he asked Wes to give back his letter of resignation...

_"Your resignation?" Wes stared for a moment, looking astonished. "Why would you resign? I thought you like this job." _

_"I do like it." _

_"It's me, isn't it? You thought you were going to have to work for me. Do you hate me that much?" _

_Embarrassed and uncomfortable, Eric shook his head, eyes on the floor. "I don't hate you at all. But I figured you'd want me gone. Thought I'd save you the trouble." _

_"You really thought I'd fire you?" Wes stood up and circled the desk to face him. "No, I wouldn't have. You're doing a good job here. I want you to stay." _

_"But you don't like me." _

_"That's not true. I like you, Eric. Always have."_

That had been another turning point. Eric had always known he was attracted to Wes; now he realized he had come to respect him, to recognize his kindness and compassion, to want his good opinion and to value his continued efforts to renew their past friendship. But there was more to it than that. In spite of all his cynicism, in spite of a lifetime of avoiding emotional ties and commitment, in spite of months of resentment and conflict, and much against his own better judgment, he found himself falling in love.

There had seemed nothing he could do about it, every reason to think Wes was straight, none to think he would ever return his feelings, nothing except an occasional look or tone of voice - and the way Wes seemed so determined to break through the distance Eric continued to keep between them. Then, during the final showdown with Ransik, in the dark of the clock tower with only the prospect of death ahead for them both, he finally found the courage to say it.

_"It's stupid, I know. But I love you. I guess there were times you suspected it. Sometimes I even thought... maybe you felt something too..." _

_Wes shook his head quickly, not meeting his eyes. "No. I couldn't. I love Jen." _

_"All right. Fair enough." _

_"I'm sorry, Eric. I wish..." This time Wes looked up, his words dying away, whatever he was wishing left unspoken. _

_And yet, it was written in his face. Eric leaned closer as he saw fear struggling with desire, knowing he should back off, let his once and again friend find his own way, but there was no time for waiting, not anymore. "This might be the last chance. Please..." He reached a hesitant hand to brush back Wes's hair as he flinched nervously, and whispered, "Just let me touch you... once..."_

They had touched, and they had kissed, and much more. It was as quick and clumsy as any of his casual encounters in dark alleys. It was also passionate and joyful, at least for Eric. But when it was over Wes had pushed him away, and pulled himself back into the closet for another year.

Another year - of pretending all he felt was friendship, until he almost believed it himself... But this time, after another shared ordeal had forced them both to face more truth than they were comfortable with, it was Wes who finally was able to change, or rather to accept what had always been there. Eric smiled at the memory. His partner had never lacked for courage; he had made up his mind on that rainy day three years ago when he showed up at the house demanding to know if Eric still loved him...

_"Just tell me. Yes or no." _

_"Are you trying to humiliate me or something?" _

_Wes took another step closer. "Where's all that honesty now? Tell me."_

_"Yes, dammit! What are you going to do about it?" _

_"Make you shut up for once in your life." Eric was too surprised to react - at first - as Wes reached up, grabbed his head and kissed him. As he finally decided he wasn't dreaming and reached out, Wes pulled back just enough to murmur, "You think you know so much. Didn't you know I'm in love with you?"_

"I guess I'd like to think I changed you, just a little," Nick was saying, abruptly pulling Eric's attention back to the here and now. "I suspect Wes had something to do with it too. But - no one can change someone else; they have to do it themselves. You just needed to be ready, and maybe figure out what you really wanted."

"I guess." Eric shrugged and smiled. "I guess you're right. And I'm glad we ran into each other again. Had the chance to - to..."

"To say a real goodbye this time?" Nick grinned.

"Well, yeah. This sure beats the hell out of the last time."

"I expect we'll be seeing each other again. I've applied to be the first to use the new morphers, when they're ready. If I get chosen I'll be the first SPD Ranger."

"After the way you handled Jake in the lab it's a sure thing, but I'll put in a good word for you if you want."

"Thanks. I might come back for training from you and Wes." Nick's expression became ironic. "I guess you know Wes let Kat do a series of tests and measurements on his morpher. She's going to make the first SPD suit look like his, sort of to thank him. Something else he and I will have in common."

Eric decided to ignore that last comment. "You'll be a great ranger," he said sincerely.

"I hope so." Nick glanced across the room. "Well, I've got a couple more people to say goodbye to, and Wes will probably vaporize me if I talk to you any longer."

"Nicky..." Eric hesitated, but curiosity won out. "If you don't mind me asking - what was in the letter?"

"The letter?" Nick smiled, an expression tinged with both sadness and amusement. "Nothing you'd want to read. I was angry when I wrote it, and hurt. It was mostly just accusations, just the rantings of a rejected lover. Probably exactly what you expected to see when you returned it. I'm glad you never opened it."

"If you're glad, so am I, I guess."

Nick held out his hand. "Well - goodbye, Eric. Or so long."

"I'll just say, 'See ya.'"

After a tight handclasp and another exchange of smiles, Nick moved away into the crowd. It was strange, Eric thought, Nick had only reentered his life three months ago; they had barely managed to turn whatever their relationship was into friendship, and yet as he walked away he left an empty feeling behind. But not the empty heart he had once accused Eric of having. Far from it, he was reminded, as Wes approached.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." He moved a little closer, letting their fingers brush together, the fleeting touch hidden from the others in the room. "Thanks, Wes," he said softly.

"For what?"

"For accepting me. Even when I was being a shit, when we were always fighting, before either of us thought there'd ever be anything between us, you still tried to be my friend. I kept trying to push you away, like I did with everyone back then. Thanks for not letting me do it."

"I'm not sure I understand... But maybe if you thank me again later, in private...?"

"I'd be happy to do that."

"Dad's back, in case you haven't noticed, and he's got that 'I'm going to make a speech' look."

"Can't wait."

Alan Collins had moved to the center of the room and cleared his throat, waiting for everyone to stop talking. As the buzz of conversation died down, he raised his voice.

"As you all know, we're here today to wish Dr. Manx and her team the best of luck in their new venture, the Special Police Division of Bio-Lab. I'm sure this will reach far into the future of our company..." with a smile in Wes and Eric's direction, "and who knows, maybe the world. So let's all join in a toast." He raised his glass, and waited for the others to follow his example before calling out:

"To SPD!"

**- End? -**


End file.
